Misconceptions of Love
by FeudalAi
Summary: What happens when, while on a special request mission, Lucy and Gray end up staying in an enchanted room (called a 'Love Room') made to elicit certain emotions? What would the repercussions be? What would happen when Natsu and Juvia found out? All Lucy knew for sure was that her life was irrevocably changed, and she had no idea how she was going to deal with that. NaLu, some GrayLu
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Natsu! Hey! Wait up!" Lucy waved frantically as she ran to catch up to him. He stopped in his tracks, glancing back over his shoulder at her, a smirk on his face.

"What? Can't keep up, huh Lucy?" There was a slight laugh in his voice that made her smile. She finally caught up with him, out of breath, and playfully pushed him. He smiled down at her before softly pushing her back.

"On your way to the guild?" Her voice was soft as they both started walking at a normal pace.

"Mhm…" he muttered. "Happy should already be there by now, he flew off quick this morning muttering something about Carla and fish…"

Lucy put her hand up to her mouth to hide her giggle. They walked in silence, enjoying each others company on the remaining walk to the guild. Natsu had his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky, only half-heartedly paying attention. His skin kept softly brushing up against hers as he bumped into her. She didn't mind it. The soft heat from the touch left her with butterflies in her stomach. She blushed slightly. He quirked his head at her, his pink hair flopping adorably to the side.

"What's with the blush Lucy?" He put his hands down by his side. She could see the guild now, they were almost there. She couldn't help but notice that her blush only intensified with his question leaving her utterly embarrassed and confused at the sudden amount of color in her cheeks.

"Um… ah… IT'S NOTHING!" Lucy quickly hurried off ahead and straight into the guild as fast as she could leaving a bewildered and confused Natsu behind. When she finally entered the guild she breathed a sigh of relief and began to feel the blush fade from her cheeks. She heard the usual chorus of welcomes and she walked around catching up with everyone as Natsu finally made his way up and into the guild. Lucy looked away from him, instead choosing to focus on something (or someone) else. She spotted Gray by the job postings and walked up to him.

"Hey Gray!" She said cheerfully before noticing his confused expression, "What's wrong?"

He looked flustered for a minute before replying and shoving a job posting at her. "Well, nothing is wrong per se. Just… um… odd…"

Lucy grabbed the job posting and scanned it over quickly. It was a special request, for her and Gray. JUST her and Gray. "Oh… I see."

He stood waiting impatiently, fidgeting underneath her confused stare. "So, wanna accept?"

Lucy looked back at the job posting in her hand and took a minute to think about it. She had never gone on a mission with just her and Gray. She wasn't sure what the others would think… What Natsu would think… But her eyes oogled the 90,000 reward and the looming terror of her rent payment floated into her mind. "I guess it would be ok, seems we would need to leave soon though…" She trailed off, mentally calculating how much time they would need. It was going to take them a week at least just to manage the distance there and back. She sighed, it would be one of her longest amounts of time away from the guild without her whole little gang. "We should probably leave in like an hour, meet at the station then?"

Gray looked at her and nodded. He seemed a little apprehensive to her but she just brushed it off and glanced around the guild to find the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. She spied him over by Erza and scurried over to tell them what was going on.

"Hey guys!" She waved at them as she leaned against the table.

"Hey Lucy, so, you and Gray heading off on that mission?" Erza's voice was all knowing. "I saw the posting on the board."

Natsu's eyes were as big as saucers. "You are going on a WHAT? With WHO?"

If she didn't know better she would have thought his voice sounded a bit… Panicked? "Well it was a special request Natsu with a huuuuge reward. i'm not just going to turn it down."

"Well then I'm coming too!" He roared, fire dripping from his mouth.

Erza's hand shot out in front of him to stop him and she leveled him with one look. "The request was only for them, we must obey the clients wishes."

Natsu grumbled at her but didn't dare oppose her. He looked dejectedly down at the table and Lucy couldn't help but feel a little bit bad about it. She grimaced before making herself smile. "Don't worry Natsu, I'll be with Gray, I'll be fine!" Either her fake smile didn't persuade him or something else caused a weird look to contort his face when he looked up at her. "Ok, well, I have to go now…" She began to walk out of the guild, a little sad Natsu didn't have anything more to say to her before she left.

Her walk home went fast and she packed her bag even faster with the necessities for the voyage. After all, the client requested that they travel by foot after they reached the first train destination. Secrecy, that was part of their mission. It was weird to her to think of all that time she would be spending with Gray alone. She was just about to pack up and leave when Natsu jumped through her window.

"Hey Lucy." His voice was soft and it made her melt a little inside.

"Hey Natsu, what's up?" He looked up at her with searching eyes and she couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious beneath his gaze.

"What are you and Gray going to be doing, I mean, I heard you will be gone for a week…" He nervously scratched the back of his head but she hardly noticed as a bit of anger started to overcome her.

"What do you mean by that Natsu?"

"Um…" He stuttered, nervously looking between her face and the floor. "I mean… Well, what are your feelings for Gray?" Natsu's eyes steeled over and his look was firm as he waited for her to respond.

Lucy, on the other hand, was torn between rage, embarrassment, and confusion. "Wha? Hah? What are you talking about Natsu?!"

He quirked an eyebrow at her as if what he was saying was a completely reasonable question.

"I don't even need to answer that! How could you even ask such a thing…" She looked away from him and threw her bag over her shoulder, getting ready to leave when a hand firmly gripped her shoulder and spun her around.

"It just feels weird I'm not going with is all…"

She blushed but held his gaze. "If I didn't know any better I would say you were jealous Natsu." She smirked at him but was surprised when he suddenly let go of her and took a step back.

"Like I'd ever be jealous of you with a guy…" He scoffed.

She winced a little, his words stung. "Well, I have to go Natsu. See you in a week." She looked at him one more time, feeling dejected, before continuing on her way. She almost expected him to follow her but he never did and soon she was with Gray on the train heading out to their first stop.

The ride was pretty silent. In fact, the entire trip to their client was rather silent. Of course they spoke to each other, idle chit chat and the likes. But, it wasn't the same kind of lively conversation that she was used to with Natsu or when their entire little group was together. Their task was quick, and the money easy. Soon, their client was happy and provided them with a room for the night. A single room. With a single bed. Lucy collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion while Gray slowly walked into the room.

"One bed huh?"

Lucy blushed at him as she sat up. "Um, yea I guess." Gray blushed too while he continued to strip down to just his underwear. "I guess… I will just go take a quick shower then." Gray nodded at her and hopped on top of the bed.

She let the warm water slide over her, let it erase the tension she was holding and the confusion of her last encounter with Natsu. This entire trip she couldn't take her thoughts away from him… It already felt like forever, but maybe that wasn't a bad thing? She knew she shouldn't care for him the way that she did. After what he said, he clearly didn't have the same feelings for her. She had a sneaking suspicion that maybe he had those feelings for Lisanna. She sighed as she turned the shower off and walked out into the room in a daze. It wasn't until she heard a loud cough and saw a very red faced Gray that she realized her mistake.

She had walked into the room, NAKED!

"Ahhh!" She screamed as she immediately ducked down into a ball and pulled some clothes out of her bag and tossed them on. "I'm so sorry. Oh wow, I'm so sorry, I forgot you were here!" Gray still hadn't said anything and she was starting to get a bit worried. When her clothes were finally covering everything (a pair of tiny shorts and a tank top) she finally forced herself to look at him. His face was completely red and he was still eyeing her up. "Um, Gray?"

He looked startled before he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh, yea, sorry Lucy."

She couldn't help it, she got angry. His eyes kept lingering on her. "Could you stop that already! Jeez, didn't you get a good enough view already!" She huffed and sat own on the bed next to him. There wasn't anywhere else to sit in the room. Gray blushed but in an odd moment of sincerity, he leaned against her. She froze. What in the word was going on?

"Lucy, I'm sorry. I… didn't mean to see it all. I mean, it wasn't the first time. But, it was the first time no one else was around." He fiddled with the blanket and she could feel his slight body heat on the skin that was against her. She couldn't deny how strange it felt. She couldn't deny how nice it felt. She didn't understand what was going on. There had never been anything with Gray before. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The thought of Natsu entered her mind but quickly faded as Gray's hand landed on her exposed thigh. It tingled. Seriously, what was going on? There was an awkward, silent, moment before he continued. "There has always been others around. I don't know Lucy. Seeing you…"

He didn't have to explain, Lucy just leaned into his soft touch. She didn't know what was going on with her. It was like something odd had come over her. Gray was acting weird, she was acting weird, yet she couldn't stop herself. His touch… it made her body tingle in delight. Soon, the light was off. Soon, they were both under the covers. Soon, his arm was wrapped around her was and his body was tight to hers. The conversation was halted. Anticipation intense. Finally, she couldn't stand the tension that was building up, she rolled over and looked him in the eyes.

"Gray, what is going on? Do you, do you have feelings for me?" Her cheeks were flushed and even though it was dark she saw his flush too.

"I… I'm not sure. I just, can't keep my eyes off of you." His hand tightened around her waist and she spun her head back the other way before sliding her body tighter against his. She jerked when she could suddenly feel something pressing against her and a load moan escape Gray's lips. They both froze for a minute, but as soon as she wiggled once more the illusion of any semblance on innocence was completely destroyed. Gray spun her around and kissed her. The kiss was wonderful and elicited all sorts of feelings inside her. Suddenly, hands were places they had never explored before, their breathing was heavy, the room heated up with their passion.

It wasn't her first time. She doubted it was his. But it was their first time together. It was impossible to really describe. It was like something had washed over them and it was impossible for them to keep their hands off of each other. When they were finished they fell, exhausted, asleep within each others arms. Completely satisfied, and very confused.

The morning light slipped in through the windows and Lucy awoke groggily. It took her a minute before the full realization of what happened last night came back to her. Panicked, she looked down at her naked body and Gray's head snuggled up on top of her breasts. With a shriek she squirmed off the bed and stood up, unceremoniously dumping a startled Gray onto the floor.

"Wha… What?" Grey's eyes slowly opened before he too, stood up in shock. Then they were both standing their. Naked, staring in confusion at each other before they both dove for clothes. "What happened last night!" Grey's panic was clear.

"You KNOW what we did last night!" Lucy could hardly control herself, she was near tears.

"I don't understand… we, you, I… We were never romantic before!" Grey walked in panicked circles throwing his hands up in the air and ruffling his hair.

Lucy stopped and froze. She was staring at the back of the hotel room door as she listens to him rant.

"Juvia is going to kill me!"

She could hear his fear and it was only then that the thought of Natsu entered her mind and she felt the most gut-wrenching feeling of her life.

"Gray…"

"I can't, how did we, I can't believe I, and you, and it was good…" He stopped himself before coughing and continuing his panicked circles. "And what, and hah, ahhh…."

"Gray… GRAY!" She had to turn to him and yell to snap him out of his panicked state. He froze and looked at her. An odd sense of apprehension in his eyes.

"Yea, Lucy?"

"I think I understand why what happened last night, happened…" She trailed off and pointed at the sign on the back of the door. Gray walked up to it and read it out loud.

"This is a Love Room. It is designed to elicit love and has a proven track record of an 80% conception rate!" Gray halted. He looked at her and saw where her hands were.

Lucy's hands were on her stomach. The room had an enchantment to make its inhabitants make love AND had a high chance of conception. She had a one night stand with Gray. Due to an enchanted room, but still. She couldn't deny that his touch, his kisses, the way the whole thing felt… It was good. She had enjoyed it. But it would have never happened if not for the enchantment, and now… Now… She could hardly form the thought. Her hands were placed lightly on her stomach as she stood frozen. There was a good chance she was pregnant.

They stood in silence for what seemed like forever before Gray wrapped her up in his arms and she finally let the tears loose that she had been holding back all morning. She moved her arms so she could hold him too. It was a friendly hug, one that maybe had the chance for more, one that knew of what they had just done, one that was there simply to comfort both of them. She could feel him trembling as he softly muttered into her ear, "Well, at least its only an 80% chance right?"

Author's Note:

So, what do you all think? Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

The trip back to the guild went quickly. On the way back they were not restrained by the clients wish for secrecy and so they were able to take the trains. There was a high speed, overnight, train that left that morning. While they usually wouldn't pay the excessively gross fees to get a room on the train (as it had a bed and small sink) they both felt a sudden rush to get home. Well, at least Lucy did. She just wanted to crawl into her bed, cry, and avoid Natsu. Gray walked into their shared train compartment ahead of her and sad down on the bed with an exasperated sigh. She looked at him and couldn't help but be reminded of the passionate night they spent together as she saw his shirt come off. She blushed a bit before siting down next to him. Yea, she didn't like Gray romantically. But, that didn't mean that that night wasn't fun. It was really, really, fun. But she feared the fallout from it, even though the whole thing was caused because of the Love Room, would be intense and full of heartbreak. She collapsed backwards onto the little bed and Gray looked over his shoulder at her. She watched him before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Slowly preparing herself to say what had been on her mind ever since they woke up in that hotel room that morning.

"So…" Her voice was soft, timid… She was afraid. Not of him, but of the situation. She felt a soft thud next to her as Gray laid down too but she kept her eyes closed.

"So…" He said with a heavy sigh.

"What are we going to do, ya know, if I am pregnant?"

The air was heavy between them and for a long moment all she could hear was the sound of her own, intense, heart beat.

"To be honest?" She could feel him turn his head to look at her when he asked the question so she took a deep breath and opened her eyes and looked back at him. His eyes were cautious. Almost nervous. A look she had hardly, if ever, seen on him. "I'm willing to be there for you Lucy. We would do it together. I could never abandon my child…" He trailed off as he took a moment, seemingly analyzing her face. "I don't know about marriage though…"

She froze, then her eyes went wide as her hands flew up to her mouth to cover her surprised gasp. He gave her a quizzical look and waited for her response.

"I never expected marriage… If I'm pregnant, just because we would be having a baby doesn't mean that we have to get married." She put her hands back down and he took one in his hand. It wasn't romantic. It was the type of comfort that she needed, that he probably needed to, while they were trying to come to terms with what happened. "Yea, I can't deny it would be easier. But, there is no need to force those kinds of feelings either."

His eyes steeled over before he turned and looked up at the ceiling. Her hand felt comfortable in his and she squeezed his hand a little, a silent thank you. "Lucy… How do you feel about me?" He wasn't looking at her, and suddenly her cheeks were bright red and she had to turn her head the opposite way.

"It was never romantic between us…" She took a deep breath and forced herself to be 100% honest with him. After all, that was what was needed right now. "I can't deny that I didn't feel anything last night. It was great." At that she looked back at him and saw his face turning an adorable shade of red. "But I don't know if whatever I felt was because of the room or if it was because of you. I don't know if it was just because of what we did, or something else."

He nodded slightly. "Same thing goes for me." He turned and looked at her. They were so close. Something could happen right now, right there, but then their mutual excuse of the Love Room would no longer be a possibility. She wasn't ready to give up that excuse. She was still too shocked by her potential future to really comprehend much else. "But, Lucy, don't you like Natsu?"

His voice was so gentle, so caring, she wished that she could say no. Color flooded her cheeks once again as she held his gaze and steadied herself to give an honest answer. "I know I shouldn't. I really know it. But I do. I always have." Gray nodded as if that was the answer he expected and suddenly she couldn't restrain herself from asking another question. "What about you and Juvia?"

He blushed but didn't turn away. "I would normally deny it. I've turned her down and tried to push her away so many times." He squeezed her hand a little harder, as if to calm himself. "But, I do feel something for her. I'm not sure if that something is romantic or not, but there is something."

The both turned and stared up at the ceiling. It felt like forever before one of them spoke again. It was Lucy's voice that softly asked the question they both didn't want to know the answer to.

"What are they going to do when they find out?"

Gray only squeezed her hand tighter before pulling her in for an all-out hug. Her breasts pushed into his muscled chest as she clung desperately to the only other person that could really understand how she felt right now. She wiggled around, tossing one leg over him to pull his comfort even closer (and so that they wouldn't fall off the tiny bed). She heard him moan softly and she immediately froze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Her face was flushed but she continued to wiggle until she was perfectly snug up against him. Tiny moans escaped his lips as she adjusted herself. His arms were wrapped around her and his chin was nearly on the top of her head. She could hear his slightly labored breaths. "I really didn't mean to… It's just, this is comfy."

"I know." His voice was gruff. Not in a mean way, but in a way that told her he had something else on his mind. "Ah Lucy…" He sounded frustrated but she could feel him accidentally move his pelvis up against her and she couldn't help but feel like she was right back in the Love Room. With his hands all over her, with how goodie had made her feel. She couldn't help it, she moaned a little too. She hoped he wouldn't hear but of course he did and it was evident in the way his shorts were now bulging against her. "Sorry, Lucy…" He trailed off as he got his breathing under control. "It was so great last time… But, we can't do it again…" He sounded pained having to say that out load.

She nodded into his chest. It was a purely chemical thing between them. Lust, not love. "I know… Let's promise ourselves something, we won't do it again, unless there are some sort of feelings there, ok?" She looked up expectantly at him and he leaned back so he could look at her.

"Ok." His voice was soft and there was a slight smile on his face. He leaned in and kissed her forehead before pulling her back to where she was snuggled into him. "But that doesn't mean we can't do this… This, this is ok." He muttered the last part, almost as an afterthought.

Lucy couldn't deny that. She needed the comfort. Both of their lives were maybe about to change forever. Even if she wasn't pregnant, somehow the others would find out what had happened and nothing would ever be the same again. Natsu would never look at her the same again. But, maybe, maybe he wouldn't mind. After all, he did say he wouldn't be jealous of her with another guy. She frowned slightly and felt tears prick her eyes. Still, if she was pregnant… She couldn't even finish the thought. Picturing Natsu's face when he would eventually hear the news, she couldn't bear it. Thats when the tears escaped their confines. Gray held her throughout the night, both falling asleep once again within each other's arms.

They were both ready when the train scratched to a halt in Magnolia. They walked out of it in a solemn mood, hand in hand, until the exited the train station. She looked at him and forced herself to smile.

"Do you, want me to walk you home?" His question was so adorably innocent she couldn't help but blush slightly and nod yes. They didn't talk on the way home, but they did walk especially close together. Everything that had happened, they had bonded, they were closer, and there was no denying that. When they finally reached her apartment she was in a slightly better mood. The crisp, fresh, morning air had made her feel awake and Gray's silent presence next to her made her calm. She finally felt like she could breath and take the world head on.

He followed her upstairs to where she unlocked her apartment. She turned the lock in the key and they both stepped inside. She turned to the side and flicked on the light switch to an only semi-shocking sight. There was Natsu, asleep on the couch. She could feel Gray freeze up next to her. But before he had time to back out the door Natsu's eyes suddenly opened and there he was, staring at her.

"Mornin' Lucy!" He said, a large, sleepy smile on his face. It took him a second, but then he seemed to realize that she wasn't alone and he quickly stood up, hands slightly balling into fists. A confused and slightly aggravated look splattered across his face. "Gray? What are you doing here?"

Author's Note:

So, what is everything thinking about it so far? Do you think I should do any chapter's from Natsu's (or anyone else's) perspective(s)? Let me know. Hope you are enjoying it so far!


	3. Chapter 3

They stood there in complete silence for a moment. Natsu waiting expectantly for an answer as Lucy and Gray stood there, unprepared to answer. Natsu was fully awake now, and getting impatient.

"I'm going to get going Lucy." Gray sounded gruff and he quickly turned around and left. Lucy felt a little abandoned, but she was happy to be alone with Natus. Well, she was until it hit her once again what could be growing in her stomach. She just couldn't get used to the idea.

"Lucy?" Natsu was still waiting, and from the tone of his voice he was betting more and more aggravated by the second.

"What?" She snapped at him. He quirked an eyebrow at her and flexed his muscles.

"What was Gray doing here?"

"He was just walking me home Natsu, that's all… It was a long mission he just wanted to make sure I got home ok." Lucy trailed off and went to sit down on her chair looking slightly defeated. Natsu seemed to be about to blow up at her but after looking at her he seemed to calm down a bit and sat next to her.

"You ok Lucy?" His aggravation turned to concern and she couldn't help but smile at him.

"I'm alright I guess…" She sighed before standing up to make herself some tea. "It was just a really long mission…"

"Was the job really that hard?"

Lucy winced. "Um, no, it was just a long time away from the guild and everyone else. That's all."

Natsu seemed to take a moment to consider that and calmed down some more. "So, you and Gray, you didn't?"

Lucy said nothing, her back turned to him as she worked at making her tea. Her cheeks hot red.

"Didn't what, Natsu?" She managed to turn around, cup of tea in her hands, and glare at him. "Gray and I are just friends." She sat down and took another minute to gather up her courage for what she wanted to say next. "And so what even if I did Natsu, you said you wouldn't be jealous. That you wouldn't care if I was with another man. After all, you don't like me that way, do you? Don't I get to be happy?"

She thought he would explode, confront her, or say something at least. But instead, he was just silent. She sipped on her tea as she waited. She didn't know what else to say. Natsu really wasn't her main concern. All she could think about was Gray, that night, how he had comforted her on the train, the baby… Natsu only lingered at the back of her thoughts. She liked him, she had no idea how she would tell him if she was actually pregnant. But, he wasn't the single most important thing anymore.

"I went out on a date with Lisanna."

If the atmosphere was tense before, it was unbearable now. Lucy's eyes nearly dropped out of her head. She knew that they once used to like each other. But, she really hadn't noticed them getting romantic ever since Liana had come back. Yea, they hung out at the guild hall a lot but she never… She couldn't… What was happening to her? Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she felt like she had just lost everything. She knew after what happened with her and Gray she had no right to feel… What was this feeling? Heartbreak? She sat down what remained of her tea, she didn't want it anymore, and cleared her throat.

"And, what am I supposed to say?"

Natsu shrugged and looked away from her. "I don't know. Just thought I'd tell ya is all."

"Oh." Her voice was soft. She didn't want him there right now. She looked up at him timidly before she continued. "Natsu, I just really want to go to bed now. Can you just leave? This isn't your apartment I don't know why you always insist on breaking in here!" She was riled up by the end, the fire back in her eyes. She had had enough of this right now. So what if he was dating Lisanna? So what that her heart just felt like it dropped out of her stomach? So what that she just wanted to go crawl into a ball and cry about Gray, Natsu, and the maybe baby? She just couldn't handle this right now. She needed time. She needed to be alone… Natsu still hadn't moved and she was just done everything right now. "Get out! I'm fed up with this! Stop breaking into my place, go and hang out with LISANNA if you two are dating. You don't need to be here to, what, check up on me? So what if Gray and I did anything? What do you care? It's not like it would effect you, or the team! Get over yourself Natsu, and get out."

His eyes were gigantic and he stood up abruptly. She was already beginning to regret her words, the fire disappearing as an extreme sadness washed over her. Too many emotions were racing around her head and she could feel that she was on the verge of a complete breakdown.

"Whatever Lucy…" He looked at her with an almost longing expression for a moment as he opened her door. "See you later." He shut the door and suddenly she was alone.

Really, really, alone.

She collapsed, right where she stood, and completely lost it.

The next day she really didn't want to leave her apartment. She just wanted to stay within its safe confines and come to terms with everything that had happened. Natsu was dating Lisanna, which really shouldn't have been that surprising to begin with, her and Gray had been together, she might be pregnant, and she still loved Natsu. Wait… She loved him?

She froze for a minute. She had been siting at her desk working on some writing while she had some tea. The soft smell of blueberries floated up from the freshly made tea and she deeply breathed in its relaxing scent. Yea, she did love Natsu. Full on, head over heals, in love with him. She sighed and buried her head into her arms on top of the mess of papers on her desk. She had only managed to write a few sentences, that was it.

"What am I going to do?" She mumbled out.

She leaned back and took a careful sip of the sweltering tea. She loved Natsu, but that wasn't what was important right now. She looked down at her stomach and carefully placed a hand on it. Was she pregnant? Even the enhanced (by magic) pregnancy tests couldn't tell her for another two weeks after the date of possible conception…

Her thoughts trailed off as she doodled on the paper and finished sipping her tea, that was when the idea came to her, maybe Porlyusica would be able to find out sooner? She couldn't get that thought out of her head and, well, it was worth a shot, wasn't it? She gathered herself up and got ready to depart. She grabbed a small bag with some water and snacks and headed out to the guild hall. She didn't really want to stop there but she needed to double check the directions with Master, and, well, she should probably invite Gray. After all, this wouldn't just affect her. It would change his life too, after all he did say he would be involved.

She was a bit nervous when she pushed open the guild hall doors. She really didn't want to see anyone. She knew it was silly, but she couldn't help but worry that everyone would just mystically know what had happened between Gray and her. When she was finally inside everyone welcomed her, as per usual, and she quickly scanned the crowd. Erza was looking at the board for job requests, Juvia was actually not stalking Gray for once and was surprisingly talking to Gajeel and Levy… Natsu was sitting with Happy and Lisanna. Lucy looked away quickly, but she still saw Natsu notice her. He was looking right at her and she couldn't stand it so she started walking around. Trying to find Gray as fast as she could before Natsu would…

"Hey Lucy! Done being mad at me yet?" Natsu was his typical cheerful self and she found it hard to be mad at him. Plus, she had already regretted the way she had yelled at him. It was a bit uncalled for.

"Hey Natsu. Yea, sorry for the yelling. I was just, ya know, tired."

"Its ok…" He was about to say more when Happy flew up and landed on his head and Lisanna walked up by his side, carefully sliding her arm around his. They both blushed, Lucy glared.

"Hey Lucy! You're back!" Happy smiled down at her. "Bring any fish?"

She couldn't help it, she giggled a little at him as she shook her head no.

"How was your mission?" Lisanna's voice was soft and innocent. Lucy had always liked her, she was nice… But she couldn't help but resent her right now, for what she had with Natsu. Everything that Lucy wanted…. It stung that he was with her.

"It was alright, have any of you seen Gray?"

"Yea, he is over there." Lisanna said with a point to the far corner of the guild where Lucy spotted a sulking Gray.

"What do you need him for, didn't you just spend a whole week with him?" Natsu seemed tense, a slight frown on his face. Lucy just kind of glared at him and shoved him off.

"What do you care Natsu?" She couldn't help but snap at him. Jeez, every time she forgive him and felt bad about yelling he would say something else that would just tick her off. She walked past him, heading towards Gray. She could tell he wanted to follow but Lisanna was attached to his arm and Happy was already dragging them over to buy some food from the bar.

Lucy tried not to think about it, she had so much else on her mind. Mainly, the brooding Gray in front of her. When she got close enough he looked up at her and slid his shirt back on, as if suddenly self-conscious about his half-naked form.

"Lucy… wasn't sure I would see you here today."

"Well, I wasn't going to come, but…"

He cut her off. "What did you tell Natsu?" His gaze was demanding, and just maybe a little nervous.

"I told him nothing. He, on the other hand, told me he went on a date with Lisanna." Gray didn't say anything, he just kind of stared at her for a moment until she continued. "I thought maybe we could go see Porlyusica…" Gray's eyes widened and she squirmed underneath his inquisitive gaze.

"Why?"

She looked around to make sure no one was near, and that no pesky dragon slayers were even within their range of hearing. "Otherwise we have to wait for two weeks to find out if, well, you know…"

"Oh…" His eyes were downcast, thinking over what she said.

"Could you…" She couldn't help but blush, "go with me?"

He took longer than she would have liked to answer but with a nod of his head they were off to ask the Master to confirm the way to Porlyusica's place. Thankfully he didn't ask many questions, only giving them both a questioning look before confirming the way. It was when they had just stepped out of the guildhall and were starting on their way that they were interrupted.

"Where are you two going?" It was Erza, looking at them with what seemed to be worried.

"We just have…" Lucy trailed off, unsure how to answer.

"A job, we just have another job request." Gray jumped in.

Erza's eyebrow raised and she looked at them, not quite believing them but not about to argue with them either. "I see…" They could both tell they had spiked her interest, it would be hard to keep her off their track for very long. She, along with probably everyone else, would find out soon enough if she was pregnant.

"Where are you guys going?" A pink haired dragon slayer came to a sudden halt as he saw Erza confronting Lucy and Gray.

"A job, apparently." Erza muttered, a bit of frustration lacing her tone.

"Another one?" Natsu looked seriously confused and Lucy couldn't help but think he looked so adorable, she couldn't help but blush and twiddle her fingers together behind her back. Jeez, just what kind of power did he have over her anyway?

"Yes, another one, you fire-brained idiot." Gray was a little harsh, but to be fair he had a lot going on.

"Who you calling a fire-brained idiot you iced-over pervert!" Natsu was all fired up and Gray was getting riled up too, it was starting to get out of hand.

"Knock it off you two!" Erza shoved them apart and Lucy was immediately happy for her presence. "Now, Natsu I agree its weird they are going off by themselves again, but they say they have a job…" At that she shot them a glare, "and we must respect that, for the… clients sake."

Natsu grumbled but backed away, sulking back into the guild. Erza motioned for Lucy to join her for a minute so she stepped a little bit away from Gray.

"What's going on Lucy?" Erza looked genuinely concerned and Lucy all of a sudden felt so emotional. She wanted to have a girlfriend she could tell all of this too. Without being able to tell Natsu, and the fact that Gray wasn't all too talkative, she could really use a friend. But she couldn't, she just couldn't tell yet…

"I can't tell you…" She knew she couldn't lie to her, she could tell if Lucy was lying. "Not yet Erza."

Erza just looked at her with a small frown and nodded. "Ok, just remember I'm here for you Lucy,"

"I know… Thanks Erza." She smiled at her before hurrying back to Gray who was impatiently waiting for her.

"You ready Lucy?" They started walking and he only spoke once they had disappeared into the forest. He reached over and slid his calloused hand into hers. His grip was just strong enough to comfort her but she was still shocked at that simple act. Any act of emotion from Gray, any act of real sentiment… Well, it meant a lot.

"As ready as I can be, I guess."

The walk was silent. Both having a lot of things on their minds. It took most of the day but eventually they finally reached a rather grumpy Porlyusica.

"Ugh what are you two doing here!" She snapped at them but left her door open so Lucy and Gray could enter. "What do you want! Hurry up now and get out of my space." Her voice was harsh, but they didn't expect anything less. After all, she hated humans.

"Well, we have a bit of a situation…" Gray began, but he couldn't seem to meet her eyes. Lucy took a breath and continued instead, telling Porlyusica all about the Love Room and the supposed 80% conception rate. Porlyusica just sat and listened with a growl on her face, she clearly was sick of people invading her personal space.

"And… that's everything." Lucy finished, her hands folded in her lap, her leg nervously shaking while Gray was completely frozen beside her. Like, literally, frozen. He was exuding a chill that softly iced everything around him, including her. But she liked that little bit of cold, it was oddly calming to her as her cheeks were on fire. She couldn't help it, the story was embarrassing. She didn't like having to tell a stern looking lady all about her sex life.

"So you want to know if you are pregnant but don't want to wait for one of those incredibly slow pregnancy tests?"

They just nodded in response.

"Fine, get over here girl." Porlyusica motioned for Lucy to stand in front of her and she did. Then Porlyusica ripped out a sharp small knife and quickly sliced a small cut across Lucy's arm.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Gray's voice was full of anger and the ice around him suddenly majorly increased as he stood up to defend Lucy.

Porlyusica looked at him with disdain. "Don't get so worked up ice boy, and stop hurting my plants or I won't help you!" She snapped.

Gray's eyes narrowed but he sat back down and tried controlling his power.

Porlyusica bent over and started doing some weird looking tests. They took a while and no one talked. Lucy only sat back down next to Gray as they impatiently waited for her to hurry up and finish. Finally, after more than an hour, Porlyusica stood back up and turned to them.

"Ok, now, no matter what I tell you, don't come back here. I hate it when all you Fairy Tail people keep invading my zone… I mean I know I'm your doctor and all but still." She trailed off before snapping back to what she was doing. Lucy held her breath, she was visibly shaking and Gray scooted a little bit closer to her to attempt to calm her nerves, and his own.

"It's simple, and I'm sorry, you're pregnant Lucy." It was quite for a moment before Porlyusica made them stand up and forced them out the door. "Now get out."

They just stood there. She knew it was a possibility but, to hear it as fact… It was a completely different feeling. Her hands traveled to her stomach and she stood there, holding it. Then she cried. She couldn't hold it back. She turned and dove into Gray's arms. He had been waiting for her and his arms wrapped tight around her. He was nearly shaking. It wasn't just Lucy who was upset, he was too. She wrapped her arms right around him and sobbed. Were they really going to have a baby?

Author's Note:

So what does everyone think? Let me know, I really love reviews and they motivate me to write! I really appreciate each and every one.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a weak since Porlyusica had told them the news. Lucy and Gray were seen often with each other, but hardly a word was said publicly between the two. They tried to act normal, they attempted to hang out with the usual gang but they were both a little distracted, and who could blame them? Lucy knew, that at least for her, her entire world had shifted. She had already went and bought a book on pregnancy and had begun to cut out things from her diet that were no longer acceptable. She tried to be subtle about it, but she knew two people at least who noticed. Erza and Levy. She knew soon she would have to tell them, then all too soon she would be showing and she would have to tell Natsu… Oh, how she dreaded that. She had been watching him the last week around the guild hall and he acted completely normal. In fact, he wasn't even acting lovey dovey with Lisanna. It was weird, it was like everything had reverted to exactly how it was before her solo job with Gray. Her hands lightly touched her belly before falling down to her sides. No, nothing would ever be the same again.

Don't get her wrong, she knew she would grow to love this child. She had always wanted children, eventually. This was just under circumstances that she still couldn't quite wrap her head around, and with one of the last people she had ever expected to be the father to her child. Yes, she didn't want to be pregnant. Yes, she hated the circumstances. But, she would never resent her child, she would love it. She walked home from the guild hall and for once she felt a sense of happiness for the first time since the incident. When she opened her door and saw a pink-haired dragon slayer inside she wasn't all that surprised. While she had tried to act normal around him, she still hadn't say hardly more than a few sentences to him. There was no way even he was that dense, he must have caught on to something going on. She shut her door and walked over to the table to sit down.

"Lucy, why aren't you talking to me?" His voice was soft and sincere. She couldn't help but smile at how sweet he was being.

"I've just been having a hard time lately Natsu."

"Then why don't you talk to me about it?" He frowned slightly.

"We don't usually discuss extremely personal things…"

"But we could?" He sounded hopeful.

"Not about this, ok?"

His frown quickly returned.

"Lucy, you've been acting weird since I said I went out on a date with Lisanna."

"No I haven't, I get it, she is your girlfriend now." She frowned slightly but stood up to make herself a cup of Rooibos tea which her pregnancy book said was ok to drink. Besides being thirsty, it also provided the added benefit of not having to look at Natsu while she said that.

"Lucy, you never let me finish the other day before you yelled at me!" He snapped at her and stood up. She turned around and saw the look of frustration in his eyes as he balled his hands into fists. She gulped but turned back around to finish making her tea.

"I said sorry for yelling already…"

"I know you did Lucy… But I think I mislead you. I went out on a date with Lisanna…"

"I KNOW you did." She snapped as she turned around and sat down, blowing on her tea to cool it off, carefully avoiding actually looking at him. He huffed at her before sitting down in her other chair.

"No, Lucy, you still are not getting it. I went out on A date, as in a single date, as only one…"

"Oh…" She wasn't sure what to think.

"Lucy, she isn't my girlfriend." He said, completely serious. She looked up to meet his eyes then and there was a fire in them that made her blush. "There was all this pressure, from everyone, for us to go out, for us to at least try." He blushed. "Back before Lisanna was… gone… we, well it was pretty obvious that we, well, liked each other. So, when she came back everyone seemed to expect it of us, we expected it of us, so, well, we tried."

She sat there silently watching the blush that continued to spread across his face. He was so adorable, but she felt so awkward in that moment. She sipped her tea more, unsure of what to say so she just waited for him to finish.

"We tried a date. It was awkward and weird. Agh Lucy do I really need to explain?"

She nodded as she had no idea what he was trying to tell her.

"Lucy, it was awkward. Lisanna and I, we don't know each other like we used to. It wasn't the same. There was no…. How do I put it? Fire? By the end of it we were just laughing. Whatever we felt before, it was gone. I care for her, she cares for me, but only as a friend! So don't get all strung out about it Lucy." He smiled devilishly up at her, his hair flopping to the side as he leaned his head slightly to the left. He was just so, so, so, adorable. No, not adorable, he was plain hot (in more ways than one she inwardly joked). It took her a minute to wrap what he said around her head. So, Lisanna and him weren't dating?

"But, she was hanging all over you?"

He looked at her quizzically for a moment. "You mean the arm thing? That doesn't mean anything, you do that too Lucy."

She blushed and looked down at her tea, completely embarrassed. "Oh."

"So, are you done not talking to me now Lucy?" He looked so sweet in that moment. But there was something in his eyes, something she couldn't quite place, that made her stomach fill with butterflies.

"Sure, I'm sorry Natsu. I've just, had lots going on lately." She stood up and placed her cup in the sink and suddenly there was a heat pressed against her back and strong arms wrapped around her. Natsu's head landed on her right shoulder and he leaned his nose into her neck. She was completely frozen. Heat radiated across her skin from wherever he touched her, the feeling of his breath as he gently breathed in the scent of her hair made her heart beat erratically and she couldn't catch her breath.

"Don't be made at me anymore Lucy… I can't bear it." His arms tightened around her and she could hardly believe what was happening. It was like she was in a dream.

"I'm… I'm not mad Natsu. It's just like I said… I have a lot going on."

"If you say so Lucy." She could tell he was smiling and he let go of her. As soon as he backed away she suddenly felt extremely alone and her skin was amazingly cold without his touch to warm her. She breathed in deeply to calm herself before she turned around to face him again.

"We will always be a team Natsu! You got me into Fairy Tail after all, I owe all this to you!" She smiled as she went to sit back down. A soft blush on her face. He nodded at her before putting his arms behind his head with a small smirk.

Oh, how she wished she could just get up and wrap him in her arms and kiss him. But she couldn't. She self-consciously touched her belly again but luckily either Natsu didn't notice or simply thought nothing of it. She truly dreaded the day that he would find out.

— Seven Weeks Later —

Everything had pretty much gotten back to normal at the guild hall. Except for one thing, Lucy avoided going out on any and all jobs. She gave lame excuses but they let her get away with it. Everyone could tell something was going on with her, but (at least for now) they just let her be. But, that all came to a head rather sudden. She was at her apartment and Levy had stopped by to look at some of her writing and let her know her thoughts on it so far when Lucy couldn't hold it back. All of a sudden her stomach felt nauseous. Her face scrunched up, she took a minute thinking it was nothing, and then she couldn't hold it back. She sprinted to the bathroom, barely making it in time, a distraught Levy following her. Soon, Levy was holding back her hair as she puked. Morning sickness. Snap. She wasn't going to be able to hide much longer.

After she brushed her teeth and had a small drink of water Levy sat her down at the table and just stared at her, waiting. But Lucy didn't want to say, she looked down at the table and softly tapped her fingers against the cool glass of her cup. She waited, forcing Levy to voice her suspicions.

"Lucy, what's going on with you?" Levy's voice was inquisitive but sweet. Lucy didn't answer, just took another sip from her water. Levy's eyes widened as she realized exactly what was going on. "Lucy, are you… Are you pregnant?"

Lucy only looked at her and nodded slightly, feeling completely embarrassed when Levy just seemed to freeze. It took her a few solid minutes before Levy seemed to reanimate.

"You're pregnant." Levy said softly before a look of confusion spread across her face. "Who's the father? Natsu?" Levy looked searchingly at her but all she did was blush and shake her head no, not explaining further, only continuing to sip her water. "If you're experiencing morning sickness now… that should mean you are about two months pregnant…" Lucy saw her begin to count with her fingers, thinking back on just what Lucy had been doing two months ago. It was then that Lucy saw that dawning of knowledge on Levy's face. She knew it because Levy's face fell, she looked puzzled, unbelieving, and down-right shocked. "Gray?" She whispered out.

Lucy thought of not answering her. Thought of denying it. But, Levy knew and there was no way to undue that. What was the point of denying it any longer? "Yes, Levy, the baby is Gray's."

Levy just sat and stared at her before finally being able to mutter out, "What? How?" She paused slightly before saying, "Are you happy about it?"

Lucy just shook her head, she could feel those darn tears prickling her eyes again. She was such an emotional wreck lately, even though she had done her best to hide it. Then, slowly, she told Levy all about what happened. In detail. Levy's face was a bright red when she had finished telling her about how it had happened. "This isn't the way I wanted it to happen, but I will love this baby. With all my heart."

Levy looked flabbergasted. "But, don't you… Don't you love Natsu?"

Lucy's face lit on fire. "How do you know that?" Levy gave her a knowing look. "I can't deny it, not to you… I do… But that doesn't change the facts." Lucy placed a hand on her stomach, it was finally beginning to settle down and she didn't feel quite so nauseous. "I will love this baby with all my heart. It may not have happened the way I wanted it to, but I will love it."

It took Levy a while to process everything. Before she managed to smile, and soon that fake smile turned into a real one and she jumped up and wrapped Lucy into a hug. Lucy wrapped her arms around her too and held on tightly. "Your the first to know Levy, besides Gray and Porlyusica who did the test. I'm so scared. Oh, Levy, I'm so scared." Lucy began to shake as the emotion of finally being able to tell someone about what was going on washed over her. It was such a relief, to have a friend know what was happening.

"I know Lucy, I'm here for you. I'll help you through it all. I'm here for you, I love you Lucy."

Those simple words from her friend was all it took to send Lucy over the top and she couldn't hold back the tears that had been building up. She cried and Levy just held her tight and kept telling her that it would be ok, that she was there for her. Lucy couldn't help it, all she kept saying was, "What will he think? I'm so scared Levy." Over and over again, on repeat, until she had finally worn herself out, and there were no tears left to cry, and Levy had tucked Lucy into bed with a fresh glass of water.

Levy sat down on the edge of the bed as Lucy took a few more sips and snuggled into the bed. "You don't have to tell anyone else yet Lucy, ok? Not until you are ready. It will be ok. Don't worry, I'm sure Natsu will understand…" But the way Levy said it, it didn't comfort Lucy at all. No, she really didn't think Natsu would understand, but hopefully it would still be quite a while before she would have to tell him. It was with that thought in mind that she drifted off into a fitful sleep with Levy staying close by to care for her friend.

Author's Note:

So, what does everyone think? I hope no one minded the time jumps too much. But I want to be able to cover the entire pregnancy and there isn't always something interesting going on so I though the time jump was the best way to get to the next interesting scene. What does everyone think about Natsu's hug? Does he like Lucy too? How is he going to react when Lucy tells him (I'm not sure what chapter that will be happening in yet)? Let me know your thoughts! I love getting reviews and they really make me want to write.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

~ 10 Weeks Pregnant ~

Lucy was still sick. A lot, and constantly craving miso soup. But, to be honest, she was happy to even be able to eat. The morning sickness was bad, really bad. She was worried people were starting to notice. Even Natsu would look at her odd due to her frequent bathroom trips. Levy tried to cover for her as best she could. She was there for her every step of the way and Lucy was eternally grateful. It was so amazing, Levy was even staying at Lucy's several nights out of the week at the moment. She would walk home with her and when they got to Lucy's she would proceed to kick Natsu and Happy out of the living room so they could have some alone time. Then they would open her pregnancy book and go over the details. Discuss what was happening to her body. Discuss how her life was going to change. Discuss the situation between herself and Gray.

Now that was awkward.

Almost everyday Gray would stay oddly close to her. Yes, they all hung out with each other before. But Gray never stayed quite so close. Juvia was getting suspicious. Even Natsu was catching on to the different atmosphere between the two. But it was Erza that Lucy was beginning to worry about. She could tell that Erza had a feeling about what was going on, or at least that she definitely knew that something was happening. It wouldn't be much longer that Lucy would be able to push her off. Lucy sighed and looked down at the table. They were all siting around at the guild hall, just chatting and eating. Lucy was again slowly eating a bowl of miso soup with some salty crackers and a glass of water to keep her hydrated. She felt uncomfortable in her clothing. Instead of the usual slightly simply clothing she usually wore she was now wearing a pair of loose fitting shorts, and a slightly baggy low cut t-shirt. It was what she generally wore when she doing laundry, not what she wore around the guildhall. She felt self-conscious. She could tell her body was starting to change. Her breasts were slightly sore and, even though Levy assured her it wasn't noticeable yet, she felt like her stomach had already grown.

Gray was siting next to her, leaning slightly away from her but she could tell his eyes were on her. He was so watchful. They hadn't had many chances to talk since the whole thing went down. The whole situation was awkward, they hardly knew how to act around each other anymore and Gray clearly had absolutely no idea how to act around someone pregnant. He was nervous, but who could blame him? Lucy smiled at him slightly and nodded with something someone was saying before she felt it. That sudden feeling. She looked down at her miso soup and just wanted to punch it. Guess her stomach wasn't ready for food yet. She stood up, made a quick comment about needed to use the restroom and darted off. She saw Levy's concerned face and her friend wasn't far behind her.

Soon Levy was holding back Lucy's hair, patiently waiting for them to finish. When she was just about done and had just started to lean back they heard the creak of the door open. They froze, slowly their heads turned to spot a red-haired wizard, hands on hips, glaring at them. Apparently, they had forgotten to lock the door. Lucy finished and leaned back, Levy standing up defensively behind her.

"What is going on Lucy?" Erza scanned both of them, evaluating what was going on. "I think its getting pretty clear. So, tell me, what is happening?" Her voice was harsh but her eyes were soft. She really did care about Lucy.

Levy straightened her back and steeled herself, bracing to confront the all-mighty Erza. "She doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to Erza!" The tension was palpable. Hardly anyone stood up to Erza. Levy, for sure, never really did.

By this time Lucy had reached the sink and had washed her mouth out with water. Erza was about to snap at Levy but Lucy held her hand out between them, making them wait for her. She washed her mouth out once more before turning around to face them.

"It's ok Levy, everyone will find out soon anyways." She looked at Erza and saw the look of disappointment on her face. Erza had asked ages ago what was going on, she had been so patient with her. Still, she hadn't opened up to her and it had been so long. Lucy felt a bit guilty about it. But she simply wasn't ready then. But now, it was time. She just had to open up, to at least a few people. "I meant to tell you sooner Erza…" Erza relaxed her posture, clearly happy to finally be let in on what was going on. "Remember when I took that job, way back, with Gray?" Erza nodded. "Well, after we completed the job the client gave us a room for the night. Well, have you ever heard of a Love Room?"

Erza nodded yes again, her eyebrow arched inquisitively. "Yes, I heard about them when I was out on the road. Almost accidentally booked a room at one once. Why?"

Lucy blushed and Levy turned her head slightly away, embarrassed from re-hearing the details of this story again, as Lucy continued. "Well, Gray and I didn't know we were staying in one and, well, things happened…"

"YOU HAD SEX WITH GRAY!" Erza's voice cracked as the words were nearly screamed in shock. Levy was quick to rush over and motion for her to be quiet and Erza's startled eyes quickly realized the tension that had returned. She was too loud, they didn't want anyone else to know yet. She cleared her throat and seemingly steadied herself before she continued, her voice curious, shocked, and soft. "You had sex with Gray?"

Lucy simply nodded before continuing. "Well, before I go on, you should know we only like each other like friends. The room, there is no good way to explain it, it just takes control over you. We didn't realize…" Lucy trailed off for a moment before snapping back to it. "It has a high possibility of conception, and, well, I'm pregnant."

Erza took a minute before replying. Lucy couldn't help but be nervous. Someone else knew her secret. Soon, everyone would know. She would have to get used to it. Plus, what everyone else thinks isn't really her problem anymore. What was more important was the baby. She had to keep reminding herself about that.

"Who else knows?" Erza's face didn't reveal what she was thinking and Lucy's nerves only continued to build.

"Levy and Gray. I think Master might have an idea. Oh, and Porlyusica since she was the one who did the test."

Erza nodded before she smiled and wrapped Lucy into a soft hug. "Is this a happy thing Lucy?" She whispered.

Lucy simply nodded before adding, "It's not how I wanted it to happen, but I love this baby."

The hug tightened. "I'm happy for you Lucy. I love you."

Erza backed away, arms holding Lucy at length. "So, Natsu doesn't know?"

Levy shook her head and answered. "No he doesn't."

Erza just backed away a little and looked at both of them. "You know you will have to tell him Lucy…"

"I know, there has just been so much to come to terms with lately. I don't… oh you guys, I don't know how to tell him. I don't want him to look differently at me. Plus, I think he might actually kill Gray." She waited to see if anyone would disagree with her but it was silent. "Erza, its… it's Natsu. There is no way that he would ever, well, you know…"

"No Lucy, I don't know, tell me." Erza's voice wasn't mean but it was slightly pressing, it was clear that she was eager for Lucy to say what Erza had long knew.

"He will never like me then… Not in the way… Not in the way that I like him."

"Oh Lucy!" Levy ran to her and threw her arms around Lucy, gently comforting her friend before pulling away. "Natsu must like you. I just know it."

Lucy looked up at her, unbelieving. "He has only ever treated me like a friend. Plus, I never wanted to ruin the team dynamic, you know?" She glanced up at Erza at the end of that sentence.

"Lucy, it wouldn't ruin the team dynamic. If it was meant to be it would be fine. You and Natsu…" Erza walked forward towards Lucy and took her hands, holding them while looking determinedly into Lucy's eyes. "If you love Natsu," Lucy blushed, "you have to tell him. He will understand."

Lucy's eyes teared up a bit but she quickly wiped it away and looked at her two amazing friends. They were there for her, no matter what. It was an indescribable feeling, to have both of them know her secret, to have both of them on her side. To have them supporting her. She loved them, and them, being there, meant the world to her.

"Do you think…" Lucy said softly before gaining a bit of courage and strengthening her voice. "No. I would like to wait a little bit longer before telling Natsu. I'm not… I'm not ready yet."

They both looked at her, looked at each other, and then looked at her again before somehow managing to nod simultaneously.

"Ok Lucy. It is your decision. I won't tell." Levy stated.

"I agree with Levy. It is your decision. But please, do it before he somehow finds out another way." Erza took a moment before continuing. "Does Gray have anyone to talk with about this?"

It took Lucy a moment as she suddenly realized that no, Gray didn't unless he told someone, and to her knowledge he hadn't. She couldn't imagine what that would be like. To have no one to tell your fears to. Well, Gray may not have been the most talkative guy ever but he must need to talk to someone about what has been going on. It can't be easy for him. "I guess he doesn't."

Erza nodded, determined now. "I'll talk to him then!" Lucy was about to protest but Erza cut her off. "He needs a friend too." That shut Lucy up and soon there was a knock on the door and they realized that they had all been standing around in there for far too long.

The quickly exited and went back to the table. Levy went to hang out with Gajeel and Lily and Erza grabbed a startled Gray by the back of the shirt and dragged him off. Natsu was eyeing her as she sat down and sipped some of the water she had left there. Happy had flown off to see Carla and pretty much everyone else was gone from their little spot now. It was just him and her and she couldn't help but feel all kinds of nervous from her discussion with Erza and Levy. She loved him. She really did. But she wasn't ready to tell him, not yet.

"Are you ok, Lucy?" He was truly concerned, she could hear it in his voice.

She wanted to lie and say she was ok. She wanted to bluff and push him off. Once again not letting him in. She could tell that he knew she was trying to not be alone with him lately. This was one of the first times they had been alone(ish) in weeks. She was just so tired of lying. No, she wouldn't tell him the whole truth. But she wasn't going to lie anymore either, well, at least not right now.

"No, I'm not feeling very well and I just want to go home."

"Ok, let me walk you."

Before she could object he had already stood up, grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and dragged her out of the guild. She saw a concerned Levy start to stand up but she waved her away. This was ok. She missed him. It was when they were about halfway back to her place that she suddenly realized that he had never let go of her hand. All of a sudden she felt like she was on fire. Her skin tingled where he touched and a deep blush crawled up to her cheeks. He didn't seem to notice or, if he did, she couldn't tell.

He only let go of her hand when they entered her apartment. Her hand felt cold out of his grasp. They hadn't talked at all on the way there, but it just felt so normal, so right. They didn't need to talk every second they were together. To her, it just felt good to be near him. She sat down at the table and looked at him quizzically when she saw him walk over to her teapot and begin to make tea.

"What are you doing Natsu?"

"Making you tea of course."

"Um… why?"

"You said you were sick, remember?" He turned to smirk at her quick before continuing to make her tea. She blushed and felt these butterflies in her stomach. He could send her heart a flutter just by doing the simplest things. Soon he was setting the raspberry tea in front of her and sitting down across from her.

"Thank you, Natsu." She breathed in the sweat smelling tea, it was wonderful. She blew on it before taking a small sip and smiling up at him.

"I haven't seen you much lately Lucy. What's been going on?"

She took a sip of her tea again to take a moment to think. "Just a lot of things Natsu. I'm just not ready to tell you yet."

He jumped out of his chair, hands slamming against the table making it lightly shake. "Why won't you tell me Lucy! Something is clearly going on, you have been keeping something secret from me for weeks…" He calmed down and slid back into his chair. "I don't like it Lucy. You shouldn't be keeping secrets, not from me. So, tell me. Tell me now."

She looked at him and she wanted to. Oh, wow, did she want to spill her guts to him and tell him everything. But she wasn't ready. Even telling Erza had made her all emotional, she so did not want to deal with that twice in the same day. She didn't understand why she did what she did next. She stood up, tea abandoned, and threw herself onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him. His breath caught in his throat, it felt like forever before he wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled her face into the crook of his neck. He was so warm. She breathed in deeply and just relaxed into him. He smelled so good. There was no real way to describe it, it was simply Natsu. She was so close to him, his arms so tight around her, she could tell that his breathing was slightly hitched and she couldn't help but wonder why. Did he like her? She couldn't think about that right now. All she could think about was the smell of him and the way his muscles felt wrapped around her. She loved it. Every last second of it. She couldn't even stop herself. She did it before she even realized it. She leaned the last inch in and kissed his neck, right where she had snuggled into it.

She heard his breath catch in his throat. Felt the way his heart suddenly started to beat erratically within his chest. It was then that she realized what she had done. She froze. Feelings mixed up all inside of herself. Excitement, fear, love… She couldn't sort them all out. She stood up abruptly, leaving him with his arms still out and in shock. She backed away, slowly, before leaning hard against the kitchen counter using it to support herself.

His arms slowly lowered to his sides and a look of realization of what just happened entered his face. A smile spread across his face and he was about to say something… Something she would never know because right at that moment when her legs felt like complete jelly her morning sickness came back with full force. Her hand shot up to her mouth and without it to help support her she collapsed onto the ground. Natsu rushed over to her, quickly scooping her up as she muttered the word bathroom. He gently stood her up in there and she dove to her knees and threw up. He just stood there, unsure of what to do, before he kneeled down and pulled back her hair.

She was so embarrassed. She couldn't believe she was puking in front of him. At least she had told him that she was sick earlier so she wouldn't really have to explain why she had throw up. Soon she leaned back and looked up at him with nervous eyes. He stood up and left the room, she was starting to panic a bit but he came right back with a glass of water and a hand towel. He leaned down and wiped her mouth before handing her the water and helping her up. She rinsed out her mouth and they walked back out to the kitchen/living room area before anything else was said.

"Sorry about that…" She said, her eyes downcast.

"It's ok Lucy." He walked up to her and put a finger under her chin, gently lifting her head up so she was looking him in the eyes. "You feeling a bit better now?" She nodded before he wrapped her gently into his arms. "Good. I don't like it when you sick." He leaned back and looked at her hard for a minute. It seemed like he wanted to tell her something else but he held it back, which was unusual for him. "You should lie down."

She nodded and went to get into her bed, Natsu following every step of the way. She was surprised, but she didn't say anything. She especially did not say that now she was feeling completely fine. She always felt better after she threw up, she reverted rather quickly back to her normal self. But he thought she was actually sick, so she was going to keep playing that part. He tucked her into bed, wrapping the blankets tight around her before she turned off the lights. He walked back over to the bed and leaned down beside her.

"Get some sleep now Lucy." Her eyes were shut. He must of thought she was asleep because he leaned in and placed a lingering kiss onto her forehead. It was so sweet. So unlike the fearsome Natsu she saw whenever he was in a battle. She loved it, loved how gentle he was being, how sweet he was to her. "I'll be here all night." He muttered something else, under his breath, but she couldn't hear what it was. He sat down, and leaned against the bed. He really was going to stay with her to make sure she was ok. She closed her eyes again and smiled. He was here with her and it felt good. Really good. She felt so safe, she couldn't help but fall right asleep with the man she loved so close by.

When she woke up, he was still there. She couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed but she brushed it off and sat up. She looked down at him and saw that he was still sound asleep. She smiled and got up. Slowly as not to wake him. She started cooking some miso soup and by the time she finished making it and put out a bowl Natsu was finally awake.

"Mornin' Lucy." His words were slurred as he rubbed the back of his head and stood up. "Mmm smells good." Lucy nodded and grabbed another bowl for him and filled it up. "Feeling any better?"

Lucy continued to eat and gave herself a minute before she responded. She wasn't sure how to answer. She felt fine right now, but that didn't mean the morning sickness wouldn't hit her at some point. The whole sick excuse wouldn't last for much longer, and she knew it. But, she wanted to have this concerned Natsu for a little bit longer. She was just so scared to tell him.

"A little. Not sure yet."

He nodded and continued to eat. When they were done he stood up and put the dishes in the sink. She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"You don't have to do that Natsu."

"Yes I do. It's ok Lucy." He washed them and she just kind of sat there and stared at him. It felt so odd yet natural for him to be in her place, just doing everyday things. It made her so happy. Her hands went to her stomach and she slightly grimaced at the secret she was keeping from him. She really hated lying to him.

"You alright Lucy? You look… worried?" Natsu looked concerned as he sat back down at the table.

"Oh, no, guess I'm just anxious. I hate being sick is all."

Natsu didn't seem to really believe her. There was this tinge of misbelief in the way he looked at her, it was the look he had been giving her whenever he suspected she was keeping something from her. She didn't like that look, but she wasn't going to completely open up to him yet. That completely open feeling she had felt with him last night as she fell asleep, it was gone now. She was back on the defensive.

Natsu looked out the window and suddenly seemed to realize how late it was. "I better go check on Happy and clean up before heading over to the guild. I really need to get another job. You wanna go out on a job with us? Like you used to?"

Lucy immediately wanted to shout yes but the she once again realized she couldn't. She looked around at her wonderful apartment and knew she was about to be out of money. She had been scraping by on the bare minimum until now but she wouldn't last much longer. She knew, soon, she would have to ask for help.

"No. But I'll probably be up at the guild later too. So I'll see you there."

Natsu was about to leave when he stopped and looked at her. His eyes completely serious. "If you don't go out on jobs Lucy, how are you going to pay rent?"

Her eyes glassed over and she really tried not to tear up but she couldn't help it. She just hoped he didn't notice. These darn hormones were getting the best of her already. She just smiled at him and ushered him out the door without answering. When he was gone she was forced to confront the question that he had voiced. She couldn't ignore it any longer. What was she going to do?

Author's Note:

Please review! I really enjoy getting to know your thoughts and it really motivates me to write the next chapter. I would really appreciate it.


	6. Chapter 6

~ 11 Weeks Pregnant ~

Lucy had put it off as long as she could, but she was now officially out of money. Rent was due in two weeks and she was worried. She was sitting with Natsu, Happy, and Erza at the guild hall barely listening to what they were saying. She thought it was something about fish. Or maybe armor? It didn't really matter. She had more important things to worry about. She saw Erza shoot her a glance and she tried harder to pay attention to the conversation and not look so spaced out. But she simply couldn't do it. Eventually, she stood up, spotted Gray across the room and headed in his direction. She could tell that Natsu was watching her walk over there, he tried to shout out to her, but Erza made him behave. Lucy sighed in relief.

When she finally got all the way over to Gray he looked up at her, startled, as she grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. He was shirtless, as usual, and he crossed his arms as he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You didn't need to yank me out of there like that you know."

Lucy lowered her eyes in a slight apology before glancing around. Someone could hear here. She motioned for him to follow and he did. They walked aimlessly for a minute before she worked up the nerve to confront him.

"Gray?" She stopped walking and stood close to him, nervously playing with her hands. "I didn't want to ask… But I can't go on any jobs right now, it's too dangerous. I've been getting buy, but… I'm out of money." At that she looked him in the eyes and saw the dawning of recognition in his face.

"Oh." It was quiet for a minute before he reached out his hand and grabbed hers, stopping her nervous twitching. "I will pay for your rent. I will give you money for food. That is my… baby… in there. I will take care of both of you." He smiled at her and then let go of her hands.

She felt like she could breath again. It was like a giant weight was lifted off of her, the pressure of the impending rent payment and food allowance was gone. She wasn't alone in this. She had her friends, she had Gray, and she had Natsu… She froze. She didn't have Natsu. She hadn't told him yet. Her face scrunched up and she couldn't help but let the worry show. Before she knew it tears were streaming down her face and Gray's arms were around her, trying to calm her.

"Na… tsu…" She muttered out between sobs. These erratic hormones were driving her wild. She couldn't control her emotions these last few days. It was getting out of control. She felt Gray nod. He was stiff, but his muscles tensed around her.

"I know. I know." His voice was gruff and understanding seeped into his tone.

Eventually she gained control of herself and he walked her home. It was when they were almost back that she remembered she had something else she needed to tell him. They kept walking as she talked.

"So, I scheduled a doctor's appointment in town. They said they could show me the baby, even give me a picture." She couldn't help but be excited at the thought, she would get to see her baby! "Would you, like to come?"

They had reached her front door at this point and Gray stumbled slightly before looking up at her in excitement.

"You really get to see the baby?

She nodded at him.

"Yes. Yes, I would like to be there." His eyes traveled down to her stomach as if he still had a hard time believing that there was a baby in there. She was only just starting to show. Like she had been eating a lot. She had been wearing baggy clothing lately and it hid the small bump that had begun to grow. Gray's hand reached out and touched her stomach. She didn't move, she just let him feel the small bump. After a minute he yanked his arm back, seemingly surprised at what he had just done as if his arm had acted on its own record. "Sorry…" He looked away from her, embarrassed.

"It's ok. It is your baby too." She smiled at him, trying her best to be comforting. "The appointment is tomorrow at three, see you there?" He nodded at her and then left.

For a minute Lucy felt as if everything was good. She was happy. Not stressed out by money. Ecstatic to get to see her baby the next day. But, then she opened her door and was immediately faced with an angry pink haired boy. Immediately her inner defensives went up and she slouched forward, attempting to make her clothes even baggier. She was so self-conscious of her little bump. It gave away the secret she was hiding from him. She just couldn't let him hug her, she was pretty sure he would feel it if they did hug.

"Lucy why did you run off?" His voice was rough. He really was frustrated with her. She walked inside and sat down on her bed.

"I had to talk to Gray." This seemed to only frustrate him more as his face twitched in a way that made him look furious, and maybe even jealous, all at once.

"Why would you have to do that alone?" His hands were clenched into tight fists. His veins slightly bulging.

"Natsu, it isn't any of your business…" She trailed off and really examined Natsu's face. She felt terrible. He looked so upset, she hated being the one that did that to him. "It was something about the job we had a while back."

He looked at her quizzically, his muscles loosening as he seemed to relax. His face did not loose that air of suspicion though. "What about it?"

Lucy was getting annoyed. More so at herself than him. She hated lying to him. She was going to have to tell him, and soon. "Just a question about the food we had, it was some kind of regional delicacy."

After a minute he seemed to calm down the rest of the way and his smile returned. He walked over and sat next to her on the bed. Neither of them were looking at the other.

"Lucy?"

"Yea?" She took a deep breath and turned to face him. He still wasn't looking at her.

"I know you are keeping something from me." Her eyes widened and he turned to look at her. She was suddenly staring into his beautiful eyes. She felt her breath hitch in her throat and fought back the sudden stinging feeling in her eyes. "Why are you keeping a secret from me?" Suddenly there was a warm sensation on her hand and she looked down at the bed, he had placed his hand on top of hers and it was holding onto her tightly. Her skin felt hot, she loved the feeling of his touch.

"I'm not keeping anything from you Natsu." She was shaking, her voice was shaking, it was clear she was lying. His hand tightened around hers even more, but it didn't hurt.

"Why are you lying to me?" His eyebrows scrunched together. He was hurting. She was hurting him. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They were slowly dripping down her face and he reached up with his other hand and used his thumb to gently wipe the tears away before he cupped the side of her face. His touch was so warm, she leaned into it and closed her eyes. Breathing deeply she calmed herself before she opened them again. He was watching her and he was so close. So very close. The hurt look on his face cut her to the core. "Am I not your friend anymore?"

The tears immediately began again and she threw herself against him, her arms holding him close as she shook, his arms immediately wrapping tight around her. She was careful not to press her stomach against him though. Her head was in the crook of her neck, so close to the spot she had kissed before. "You are my friend. You will always be my best friend." His arms tightened a bit more around her, trying to pull her closer but she couldn't allow that. She leaned in so her top was tight against him but her stomach wasn't against him. His arms felt so right around her, her emotions were in a whirlwind and she couldn't stop herself from saying what she said next. "You're more than a friend…" She caught herself. She had almost said even more. She didn't say anything else. He didn't say anything. They just sat there holding each other for what felt like forever but was actually only a minute.

Lucy's nerves were eating her up inside. Did he hear her? Did he know what she meant by what she said? She leaned back, loosening her arms from around him and put some distance between them on the bed. He was just sitting there, staring at her, this slightly goofy look on his face. Lucy cleared her throat and nervously scratched the back of her head before he was suddenly back in action. He jumped up and laughed slightly. He glanced at her before his cheeks blushed slightly.

"I gotta go. I left Happy at the guild." He turned around and was almost out the door when he looked at her over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Lucy?"

She nodded at him and then he was gone. His departure was so sudden. Her skin was still tingling from where he had touched her. She laid down on the bed and was hit by a wave of exhaustion. All of her emotional ups and downs had taken a toll on her an it wasn't long before she was sound asleep and dreaming of Natsu and the way his touch had made fire danced across her skin. She dreamt that the baby was his. She dreamt that they were a family, happy, and full of love.

Hello Everyone!

I am sorry for the long overdue update. I am in my last semester of graduate school and it has been so busy I have not had time to write. I already have the next chapter outlined and will update again soon. Please review, I love knowing your thoughts. Once again, sorry for the long wait.


	7. Chapter 7

The ultrasound, well, it did not go as expected.

They had arrived together and the gel felt extremely cool against Lucy's skin. Gray was standing next to her, very close, but not touching. Neither said anything. There was a nervous air within the room. The doctor was kind and very understanding of their situation (Lucy had explained in advance their unusual circumstances). First, they heard the heartbeat. Lucy gasped and Gray reached out and held her hand, his face filled with wonder. Then, she saw the image. There it was, flickering on the screen, their baby. Lucy felt happy tears prick her eyes and Gray squeezed her hand a little tighter as a soft 'wow' escaped his mouth. The doctor moved the wand around a little bit and then paused, moved the wand back, paused again, and returned it to its previous position. The doctor's face was stiff in concentration and a moment of worry seeped into Lucy's thoughts.

"Is… is the baby ok?" Lucy muttered out.

The doctor turned to them and smiled. "I have some, unexpected, news."

It was about a half hour later as Lucy and Gray walked down the street, shoulder to shoulder, looking at the ultrasound pictures the doctor had given them. They were still in shock. That was their baby. No, wait, their babies. Plural.

"Twins. We are having twins…" Lucy trailed off, her voice soft. She was still shocked. Not one, but two, little babies were growing inside her. Even with the shock, she could not help but smile. She looked over at Gray and leaned into him. He was smiling too.

"Yea, twins. I can't… I still hardly believe it." He had a look of awe on his face. It made her heart warm to see how happy he was. She would never be alone with this, he would always be there for her, and the babies.

She looked down at her little bump, hidden beneath her baggy shirt. How in the world did two babies fit in there? She reached one hand down and rested it on her stomach, but her divided concentration between her stomach and the ultrasound pictures made her trip on a pebble. For a second she was worried as she felt the falling sensation begin, but Gray reached out a hand and grabbed her.

"You have to be more careful now, Lucy." He smiled at her, teasing her.

He had just let go of her, they were laughing, when she heard him.

"Lucy! There you are!" She turned her head to see a floppy mess of pink hair. He had already caught up to them, a small bouquet of fresh wild flowers in his hand. His smile quickly vanished when he saw how close Gray was to Lucy. "Gray?" His voice had lost all excitement.

Lucy felt caught. She looked down to the ground where the several ultrasound pictures lay in plain sight. She looked back up at Natsu and her face fell. He had followed her gaze. The flowers fell from his hand, crashing onto the ground as he slowly picked up one of the pictures. It felt like time froze.

Gray stood stoic beside her. They both knew they couldn't stop this. They both knew that Natsu would have to learn eventually. Natsu's eyes slowly widened as realization hit him. He looked at the clear picture of two babies before his devastated eyes traveled up to meet hers.

Tears were building in her eyes. She wouldn't be able to hold it back much longer.

He looked… Broken…

She tried to mumble out a word, but she couldn't seem to speak. She was frozen, the pain in Natsu's eyes holding her prisoner.

Gray broke the silence. "Natsu…" He said, softly, gently, only to be immediately silenced by a sharp glare from Natsu. Time was moving fast now, too fast, and Lucy begged it to slow down.

Natsu's eyes steeled over. No emotion could be seen on his face, he was like a robot. Uncaring, unfeeling. "You're pregnant." He said it as a fact, not a question.

Lucy managed to clear her throat as tears began to drip down her face. "Yes. 11 weeks." Natsu's mask cracked. It seemed he couldn't hold it for long. He did care, and as the pain washed into his face again she felt her own heartbreak. The tears were harder now. "I'm so sorry Natsu, let me explain." She tried to reach her hand out towards him, but he backed away.

"That's… That's what you were hiding from me…" He looked at Gray, glared at him, took another step back, then took one long look at Lucy. His eyes traveled down to her stomach and his hands curled into fists.

Before anything else could be said he had turned and ran in the opposite direction. Lucy started to go after him but Gray grabbed her and shook his head. Natsu needed time. She couldn't stop crying. The look on Natsu's face… he had looked broken. He had looked like she destroyed him. She couldn't handle that she had caused him so much pain. She felt her heartbreak as she looked at the lonely bouquet of flowers splayed across the ground.

She bent down and picked them up one by one, attempting to slow her tears. Gray stood next to her, silent and stoic, letting her have this moment to digest her feelings on what had just happened. When she had gathered all the flowers she held them tight to her body and breathed in their fresh, floral, scent. Standing up, she breathed deeply and steeled herself for what she knew needed to be done now.

"Gray, we need to tell Juvia. Now, right now. She can't find out like Natsu just did. It wasn't fair to him, they deserve better." She looked over at him and saw him gulp. He was nervous. He cared deeply for Juvia. He loved her. He reached out and took all of the ultrasound pictures from her and stared at them for a long moment before he nodded.

"We will go now and tell her together." He grabbed her hand and they began to walk in silence towards the guild hall. "Everyone will know after today. They will all know."

"Yea, they will."

The guild hall was busy, but luckily Juvia was off in a corner, relatively separated from the rest. They walked over towards her immediately. When they finally reached her, Juvia's eyes lit up until she saw how serious they were.

"Gray, you're back! I'm so happy." She tried to force a smile on her face, but it was clear she was uneasy.

"Juvia…" Lucy began but Gray cut her off with a silent shake of his head.

He walked up to Juvia and took her hands in his. It felt weird to see him being so soft and gentle. He must have been shaken by what happened with Natsu too. After all, they were friends. He wanted the news to be gentler for her. Soften the blow. Juvia's eyes were huge, she seemed completely lost in the moment, in bliss from his touch.

"Juvia…" His voice was firm. "We have something to tell you." His eyes flickered over to Lucy before looking back at Juvia. Julia looked nervous, her hands were slightly shaking.

"Yes, my dear?" Her voice quivered slightly. Lucy braced herself for Juvia's anger, for Juvia's sadness, for how hurt Juvia would be.

Gray pulled Juvia a little bit closer and then he began. He told her the entire story, from the beginning. Juvia stood frozen, eyes widening, as she listened. Lucy just stood there, watching as Juvia's face fell. She saw that same look that she had seen on Natsu's face. But, Juvia did not pull away from Gray. Instead, she leaned in closer to his touch. "We just found out, we are having twins." Gray ended there and just waited for Juvia to respond. Her hands clutched tighter onto his as her eyes welled up in tears. Even still, Lucy saw Juvia try to force a smile.

"Are you and Lucy together now?" When she asked that, Lucy couldn't help it, she felt herself begin to cry again. Juvia couldn't hold back her emotions anymore either, tears had begun to slowly fall down her face as well.

"No… We are only friends." Gray's voice caught in his throat. His face wasn't showing it, but he was clearly feeling pain from the hurt on Juvia's face. Juvia's water filled eyes turned to look at Lucy.

"You're pregnant. I can't believe your pregnant. With Gray's babies…" Juvia's hands let go of Gray's as she took in deep breaths. Her hold body seemed to shake, bits of it almost like translucent streams of water.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?"

Lucy, Gray, and Juvia froze as the voice rang out. It was sudden and filled with surprise. It echoed across the entire guild hall and immediately the place was completely quiet. They had been overheard. Their secret was no longer a secret. Lucy's eyes were like saucers, the tears making them appear even larger than before. Happy had overheard them.

She couldn't handle it. She couldn't handle the looks of shock, surprise, and every other look she saw on their frozen faces. Her emotions were spinning out of control and she just couldn't be there anymore. Her eyes flashed to Juvia in panic before she turned and sprinted. She tried to run as fast as she could. She felt trapped. She had broken Natsu, they had hurt Juvia, everyone was staring.

She had almost reached the door when she felt it. Someone had grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She spun around and was about to protest being stopped when she saw who had made her stop her escape. Juvia. She was looking at her with tears in her but a small smile on her face. She didn't say anything, she just pulled Lucy into her arms and held her close.

It was silent for a moment before she heard Juvia whisper into her ear. "It's ok Lucy. I understand, its ok." Juvia leaned back and held her at arms length. It was then that Lucy realized that their guild mates had surrounded them, and they were all smiling at her. Gray was besides her too, staring at Juvia with a look she couldn't describe. Juvia spoke normally now. "I am here for you. For you and my darling Gray." Juvia longingly looked at Gray before continuing. "WE are here for you!"

The rest of the guild was beginning to chip in now. She could hear some questions being muttered but most were smiling and confirming what Juvia had said. Erza pushed through the crowd, Levy following close behind in the path Erza carved, until they were both in front of her pulling Gray, Juvia, and herself into a hug.

The guild knew. Everyone knew. The secret was out.

And Happy was no where to be seen.

Hello Everyone! A lot happened this chapter. What did everyone think? Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! What does everyone think Natsu will do now?


	8. Chapter 8

Lucy walked home in a stupor. She felt numb from the events at the guild hall. Completely emotionally drained. When she had left Juvia was holding tightly onto Gray's hand. Who knew, maybe this whole ordeal would only pull them closer together. Maybe Gray would really be able to finally admit to Juvia how he felt about her. But Lucy couldn't think about that right now. All that was on her mind was the torturous broken look that had been plastered on Natsu's face. She couldn't handle that. Hurting him, was the last thing she ever wanted to do. It killed her inside. She felt physically sick, and not because of her pregnancy. Her whole body revolted against upsetting him and she knew there was no way to fix the hurt she had caused. It would always be there. Even if he forgave her. That moment where he picked up the fallen ultrasound picture would be forever engrained in both of their memories. Her eyes started to tear up again...

It was the memory of the forgotten wild bouquet that immediately brought her back to tears...

She had only just managed to get her tears under control, her face red and splotchy, when she opened the door to her apartment and saw a defeated looking Natsu slumped against the side of her bed. He lifted up his head and looked at her. His face wasn't smiling or frowning. Simply serious in a heart wrenching way. Right at that moment she was glad she had already cried so much, she had used up her tears and she begged no more to fall. While his face gave nothing away she could tell that his eyes were a bit red. He had been crying...

It was silent for a few moments more and she just stood there, waiting for him to speak. "Lucy..." His voice cracked on her name and she couldn't stop herself, she sprinted over to him and sat close to his side only for him to scoot a few agonising inches away from her and clear his throat. "Lucy, your pregnant."

She simply nodded in response. She didn't try to speak yet. She knew it wasn't time yet to explain. She had to wait until he was ready.

"With Gray's baby." He froze for a minute, trapped in an unending memory before he corrected himself. "Babies..."

She only nodded again. She tried to reach her hand out towards him, but he pulled away from her.

"You weren't sick before were you? That was... Morning sickness."

She didn't respond. He already knew the answer.

"Why didn't you just tell me Lucy!" He stood up now, pacing the room, his voice angry and passionate. "Why didn't you just tell me that you love Gray!" At that he turned and stared at her, his eyes burning with an indescribable pain that broke her even more. Somehow even more tears pricked her eyes but she was determined not to let them fall.

"I don't Natsu. I don't love him. I don't want to be with him. I have never wanted that. I will never want that. I love..." She caught herself, it had almost slipped out that she loved the furious pink haired dragon slayer in front of her. It wasn't the time to tell him that though. Right now, he deserved to feel angry, hurt, upset, mad, and any other emotion he was feeling. He was pacing again, little puffs of fire escaping from his lips without him noticing. He was really worked up.

"THEN WHY DID YOU DO THAT LUCY!" He shouted it, his raged boiling over as his fists clenched and unclenched. He looked like he was ready for an extreme life or death battle.

She couldn't hold back the tears any longer and a few slowly fell down her raw cheeks. "It was the room..." She muttered.

He froze for a minute, his eyebrow arched up, confused. "What?" His anger was momentarily halted as his confusion over her statement began to grow. She saw her chance. She cleared her tears and dove straight into the story. This may be the only chance he would give her to explain how it had happened. Why it had happened. That they hadn't planned this. That it was the room. That she didn't love Gray...

When she was finished he pulled out a chair from her dinning table and slouched down onto it. He was sitting hunched over, head down, hands tangled in his pink hair. His face was completely shaded by his bangs and she couldn't read his expression. She sat there nervously fidgeting as the quite stretched on and on. She was about to say something, anything, when he finally lifted his head and his swollen eyes looked straight into her's. He had been crying. He had hid it, but she had made him cry again. She wanted to reach out to him, hold his hand, hug him... She wished that they could be like Juvia and Gray... Holding tighter to each other instead of allowing distance to grow. She stood up and tightened her small hands into fists and stared back at him. He was taking his time thinking it over. She could tell that he was contemplating something. Something serious. Instead of immediately making a decision, which was more typical for him, he was seriously contemplating the woman, and situation, that stood before him.

"You are pregnant with Gray's twins. You don't love him. You are not together. It was the room..." At that he winced and stood up, he looked defiant. "You are going to be a mom..." He trailed off for a minute, as if fighting with himself. "You are going to be a great mom, Lucy." With that, he leaned his head slightly to the side and gave her his trademark grin, his hair flopping around.

She didn't know what to do. She had expected a lot of things, hoped for a lot more things, but this was not something she had seen coming. She couldn't stop herself, she sprinted into his arms and held him tight against her, no longer trying to shield the bump of her belly from him. He wrapped his arms slowly around her at first, but then he dug his head into her neck and hair and held her tight. For a minute she almost deluded herself into thinking he had really accepted the situation, but she couldn't fool herself for long. He was ever so slightly shaking. She slowly loosened her grip and took a careful step back, arms still around each other. She saw his eyes trail down to her swollen stomach... To the bump she had never let him feel before. She wasn't sure why she did it, but she reached down and gently grabbed his arm, pulling it from around her and gently pressing it against her belly. The loose shirt she was wearing was pressed tight against her skin and for the first time Natsu had a really good look at the bump growing there. They stayed like that for a while. Her, secretly, loving every moment that his hand was on her belly while deeply wishing the twins inside were his. She wanted so bad for him to be ok with this, but she knew it would take time. She would need to control her expectations, somehow.

He was looking at her with strange eyes. No longer entranced by her belly one hand had found its way to the small of her back while the other had just gently cupped her cheek. There was restrained passion in his eyes. A mix of anger, frustration, and deep hurt still evident on his face. The hand around her back gripped her tighter and she couldn't help but slightly gasp as he pulled her even tighter to him. Her belly pressed taught against his skin, no space remained between them. Her breathing became shallow, a bit nervous and excited. She had no idea what he might do next, but he had a hungry look in his eyes as he stared at her. He moved his hand from her cheek and ran it twice through her hair before he placed it on the back of her head, fingers tangled within her golden hair. She could hardly breathe now. They were so close. He knew everything and now he was so tantalisingly close to her... She wanted so desperately to lean in and close the minuscule gap that separated them, but she knew that had to be his choice. His breath was hot against her skin and she felt goosebumps rise over her arms and neck. She couldn't handle the anticipation, the need she suddenly felt overcome her to be kissed by him. To be truly accepted by him.

He held her there so long she started to loose track of the minutes. All she knew was that she could stay in his arms forever. He leaned even closer to her and her eyes closed. He was only a hair away now. She could feel the heat from his lips, from his deep breathes, caress her own. His breathing became quicker and her lips parted slightly as his, ever so softly, brushed against her. It was just the slightest touch, the smallest feeling, but it made her want even more. His hands gripped tighter around her waist and her head and he couldn't hold back any longer. His lips were immediately pressed firm against her's in a longing kiss that had been held back for far too long. She melted into him, she was lit on fire by his touch, by his kiss, by the feeling that was welling up inside her from being kissed by the man she loved. They lingered there for a while, neither really wanting to end the loving kiss.

Eventually, the kiss did end. Natsu leaned back and loosened his grip on her, his hands falling down to his sides. For a moment, there was this intense look in his eyes full of passion and love. But, then, it just disappeared and his face steeled over again. He was flipping back and forth between extreme hurt and acceptance. She reached her hand out and grabbed his and just held it. She stared at him, trying to convey everything she was feeling with just a look. She wasn't sure if it worked though because he was backing up, he dropped her hand, and walked over to the door.

"See you tomorrow at the guild, eh Lucy?" He tried to smile at her again but it seemed half hearted, conflicted. She smiled the best she could and nodded enthusiastically at him. He stared at her for a moment longer and then he left.

When the door shut behind him the apartment felt extremely empty. She felt more alone then she had ever felt before. She stumbled backwards until she fell onto her bed. She didn't bother changing, she simply crawled underneath the warmth of the blankets and curled into herself. Her emotions were on a wild roller coaster ride. Natsu knew, she had made him cry, hurt him in a way she would probably never be able to fix... But he had also kissed her... She ran her fingers over her tingling lips at the thought. He had kissed her and it had been... Wonderful. She couldn't help but smile and girlishly giggle as the intense memory washed over her again. The day had been so emotionally draining. So much had happened. Forgotten bouquets and first kisses... It quickly all overwhelmed her and she fell into a deep and fitful sleep.

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the late update. Please review and let me know what you think of the chapter.

~ FeudalAi


	9. Chapter 9

Three weeks later and things were stiff between their group at the guild. Every day Lucy would come in, no longer trying to hide her stomach, wearing nice new maternity clothing (thanks to a shopping expedition led by Erza and happily followed by Levy) and everyone would greet her the same but, with a noticeable difference of an assortment of glances to her ever growing belly. Erza always tried to keep the conversation light at their table, unless she was gone on a job — which was often. Levy tried her best too. She was around more often but she often left with Gajeel who didn't really care enough to lighten the situation. In fact, Lucy thinks the whole thing actually rather amused him. But she didn't miss the longing glances he sent Levy's way. Julia always sat right next to Gray if she was there when Lucy was, and Gray let her. She didn't speak much, but she smiled and was so nice it made Lucy nearly cry at how accepting she had been. It was Gray and Natsu that were the problem.

The first day they had come back to the guild after Natsu found out, Lucy was sure there was going to be a fight. Surprisingly, there wasn't. Natsu stormed into the guild, fists clenched, teeth grated, before stomping over and plopping down next to her with a very gruff 'hello'. Happy flew in after him and carefully sat down on the table beside him. He looked cautious. Worried about what the pink-haired dragon slayer would do next. Gray was already there, siting across the table from her, Juvia by his side, and Lucy could have sworn she saw him twitch, just a little. Natsu and Gray just glared at each other… And that is how it has stayed. They had barely uttered a word to each other and Lucy was growing more worried by the day. Everyone could feel the tension building between them. If Gray reached out to help Lucy up, Natsu's fingers dug into the table. If Gray even slightly glanced at her belly, the heat radiating off of Natsu became so intense it was nearly impossible to sit next to him. Natsu, on the other hand, had barely touched her. She longed for his touch, for his embrace, for his kiss… But she knew she had no right to ask for those things. It was up to him, if he would really be able to forgive her. The growing reality of their situation only grew more intense each day before finally, it broke.

Lucy and Gray were leaving the guild for the day. They had just stopped outside the front doors to say goodbye when Gray asked Lucy to wait a minute more. He looked confident as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of money and handed it to her.

"Here." His voice was gruff but sweet.

Lucy couldn't help but smile. This was the second time he had given her rent and food money. She appreciated the help so much. It was their babies. They were in this together, and this was a fact that they were both slowly coming to realize. She reached out and took the money with a small thank you and a kind smile.

"What are you doing? What's the money for?"

Lucy turned to look at Natsu and she could tell he had just snapped. Something about seeing Gray give her money, the look on his face, he was in full-on fighting mode, ready to devour anything and everything in his path. Lucy took a deep breath to try and calm him down.

"He is helping me out with rent, food, since I can't go on jobs."

Natsu's fists clenched and his hands slightly glowed with an ember gleam. "He shouldn't be." His voice was stern, demanding.

"Why not?" Gray crossed his arms, defiant. "Those are my babies Natsu, not yours. I need to take care of their mother, she is my responsibility now."

And with that, the fight began.

Natsu flew at Gray who was slightly off-balanced and unprepared for the attack. Immediately, he was going at him with full power and all the rage and hurt he could muster. Gray fought back just as hard, but it was clear he was on the defensive. He had never truly fought Natsu when he had so much emotion on his side. Natsu's anger boiled over into an angry ball of flames that was impenetrable and unstoppable. Lucy stood there beside them, screaming, shouting, begging, for them to stop as tears fell down her face. Natsu couldn't hurt Gray, she needed him. And Gray could not hurt Natsu, because she needed him even more. She felt like she was splitting in two as they wouldn't listen to her desperate pleas and their fight grew ever larger. Soon it was drawing a crowd and she was in the danger zone. Flashes of ice and fire danced precociously close to her skin. Still, she tried to get closer to them. To make them stop. Temporarily forgetting that it wasn't just her she was putting in danger. Then, the inevitable happened. A blast of uncontrolled fire flew too close and seared across her skin. She screamed out in pain as she dropped to the ground and the fight ended immediately. A strange hush fell over the crowd before Levy broke through carrying a medical bag.

Lucy just lay there stunned. Natsu's attack had hit her. Albeit on accident, but she had never truly felt the power in his fire punch before. She couldn't help but cry and her hands immediately went down to her stomach, palms pressed against it, making sure everything was ok. Levy was bandaging her bleeding arm. The gash wasn't too large, but it was noticeable and rather painful. When it was finally bandaged Lucy looked up at Gray and Natsu. The crowd had dispersed by now and it was just them there. Gray had moved over by her, kneeled down, but not touching her. Natsu was still standing several feet away, a look of shock on his face as he slowly backed away from her. She reached out a hand to him, and winced as she smiled through the pain. He just looked at her and backed up again. Gray shot him a look before reaching out and pulling her up himself. Then, he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her away from where the fight had been. Away from where a stunned Natsu still stood. Away from the guild, and towards her home.

They walked in silence. Gray let go of her once he was sure she was following along. There were so many unspoken things between them. Yes, they had been together. Yes, these were his babies. But no, they didn't want each other. So, how was that going to work? How were they going to deal with all of this? She knew she would have to deal with these issues soon. She kept growing bigger and bigger. She could feel the fluter of movement inside her belly. Too small for anyone else to notice yet. Just like butterflies gently dancing in her stomach. It was weird but amazing. It just made everything that much more of a reality to her. These babies were coming in a few months time, and they were not prepared at all. When they got to her apartment he walked her in and sat down at the table after grabbing her some water.

"Lucy, we need to start figuring out a plan."

She nodded.

"Like, what role am I going to have?" His face looked concerned.

"Gray, you're their father. You know that."

"Yea but…" He trailed off and she knew what he was thinking, 'but what about Natsu'. "He loves you, you know."

Her face froze and she couldn't help a small smile from spreading across it as a blush flushed across her cheeks. "He hasn't said anything to me."

"I know. But he does, and you know that." He paused for a minute there as he seemed to work himself up to asking her something important. "I know he will never be out of the picture. I don't mind. I know you two will probably end up together…" She started to protest, full on blush now, but he stopped her, "Don't even try denying it, Lucy. I can see how much you love him. I see how he feels for you. I'm not dumb. I know he will be a part of their lives… What I'm asking is…" He paused again, seemingly nervous, his fingers twitched against his legs, "Don't cut me out of their lives. I am their Dad, and I will always be their Dad. I will always be there for them, from their very first day to my very last. Please, don't ever cut me out. Please, let me be their Dad." His face was frozen like a statue as he waited for her response.

Lucy couldn't help herself. She bolted up from her seat and wrapped him in a hug. It had been a while since they had been quite that close. It wasn't romantic. Just comforting, friendly. "You will always be their Dad. Natsu will always be important too, I can't deny that, you are right. But you are their Dad, and you will always be a part of their lives." She moved away from him and sat back down. "I know we have a lot to figure out. A LOT." She emphasized that because the more she looked through the baby books the more she realized they needed and had to do. "But, we can do it, ok?" She smiled up at him the best reassuring smile she could muster. Her arm was actually still in a lot of pain and what she really wanted to be doing was crawling into her fuzziest pajamas and sitting in bed with a cup of pomegranate tea and a good book.

Gray smiled and he looked truly relieved, as is nothing else dramatic had happened that day, he seemed like he was free from the weight of the world. "Thanks, Lucy." His voice was soft as he stood up and left. He looked back at her once, smiled again, and was gone.

Lucy took a deep breath and then winced at the pain in her arm. She was just thankful it hadn't been a few more inches to the left, otherwise it could have hit her belly. She lifted up her shirt and looked at her swollen stomach. It wasn't just her anymore. No, she had two new precious lives to take care of and protect. She felt frustrated with herself and annoyed at Natsu for starting the fight in the first place. Seriously, sometimes he was just so run by emotion it was extremely detrimental to everyone and everything around him. She ran her fingers over her belly before smiling slightly. She walked over to the stove and put water in the kettle to start heating it up as she went and put on a pari of pink and blue striped fuzzy pajamas with thick fuzzy duck socks. She took the kettle off the stove and poured a steaming glass before setting the tea in it to steep. Then, she refreshed the bandage on her arm and was glad to see that Levy had done an excellent job (as usual) and it was already beginning to slightly heal. Finally, she took the tea bag out of the cup and had just snuggled into bed with the steaming glass between her hands when she heard a knock.

Her door was unlocked, and he didn't wait for her to let him in. Natsu walked in alone, looking dejected and worried. He came and sat down at the edge of her bed, placing his hand near to where the outline of her leg was underneath the blanket. He couldn't look at her though, and his other hand ran nervously through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I didn't mean…"

She put her hand up in the air and cut him off. Oh, how she wanted to simply accept his apology and move past the whole thing and if it just concerned her, she would. But she had to face the facts that it wasn't about her anymore, and she couldn't let him off completely easily. "Natsu, you put my babies in danger."

He froze, silenced by her words.

"I know it seems like you want to forget that I am pregnant." He winced. "But it isn't just me I have to watch out for. If it was just me, this would all be so different." She sighed heavily and sat up, reaching one hand out towards his and covering it with her own. It felt so good, she had to mentally steady herself to continue before she got lost in the sensation of his touch. Even that little touch, it sent her boiling. Well, it was that time of the pregnancy, where blood vessels are pumping and it made one long for the activity that made them pregnant in the first place… She coughed slightly, clearing her mind, before continuing. "You could have really hurt them." He still wasn't looking at her, but he turned his hand around so that their fingers were intertwined. "Natsu, I need you to look at me." He did and she could see why he had refused to. Small tears had pricked his eyes.

"I know, Lucy." His fingers tightened around her's. "I know you are pregnant. I know they are Gray's. I know that he will always be their Dad and I can never have that place. I know, I could have really hurt you… I know, that I did hurt you. I hurt you Lucy, I made you bleed. I, did that." He pointed to the very visible bandage on her arm. A tear escaped him and his other hand shot up to wipe it away. She smiled gently at him.

"It's not that bad Natsu. But, you can't do that again. You can't put the babies in danger like that… I just don't get it. I don't get why you even got in a fight in the first place!" She couldn't seem to stop it, all of a sudden the rage of her babies being in danger just flooded out and as much as she loved him she couldn't hold it back at that instant. She took her hand from his and stood up, placing her cup on the table, and looked back at him.

"Because they are Gray's babies." His answer was so straightforward it shocked her. "No, it's not even that. It is because he is doing everything for you the I should be doing." He stood up and walked over to her and took her hand back in his, pulling it up towards his face to examine it. "I should be paying your rent, I should be buying your groceries, and I should be taking you to the doctor. I should be making sure you are ok, I should be the one bandaging your wounds, I should be the one helping you to get up. I should be the one to walk you home. I should be the one Lucy, not him." He had lifted her hand and pressed the back of it against his check, eyes closed, he breathed in deeply before looking at her. His eyes were full of frustration and passion. A look that burned a hole through her.

She gulped before she said what she was longing to say. "No one said you couldn't be."

In an instant she was engulfed in his hug, his arms tight around her, his mouth tantalizingly close to her ear and her nerve endings were on fire, dancing to the touch of his skin and begging for more. She begged her body to behave as one of his hands moved to hold the back of her head while the other held the small of her waist. His breath was hot against her neck as he mumbled out one word, "Lucy."

Just like that she couldn't contain herself and she slightly tilted her head and kissed the base of his neck. He froze, his body suddenly going stiff until she kissed the same spot again; more lingering this time. She relished the taste of his skin and his grasp tightened around her.

"Oh, Lucy." He pulled her back and looked at her hard for a moment before edging himself slightly away from her. She was disappointed for a moment before his hand reached out and pulled her towards the bed. "You need to lay down, it's been a long day." She was about to pout when he interjected, "You and the babies need the rest." She felt her lip quiver at the thought he had put into that sentence. That he really did care about her and the babies well-being. He tucked her into bed and then laid down atop the covers next to her. They laid, looking at each other, their hands intertwined. She loved every part of him, and she was truly enjoying getting to see this side of him. The caring, amazing, man he was.

"I wish those babies were mine, Lucy." He let that linger in the space between them for a moment before he leaned his forehead in against her's. "I wish you were mine Lucy."

Her breath caught in her throughs and she let go of his hand to bring her's up to cup his face. "But I can be."

Her words hung there. An open invitation. All that was needed was for him to make the decision, to take that metaphorical leap.

He gasped slightly at his touch before looking searchingly at her. He brought his hand up to cup the back of her neck, his fingers gently playing with her hair. His touch lit her on fire and she could hardly breath as she waited for him to make his move. In an instant his decision was made and his lips were on her's. It had felt like forever since their last kiss and her lips begged for me. She kissed him greedily, she couldn't get enough, o this taste, of his touch, of the way it felt with him next to her. She wished the blanket wasn't separating them and she went to move it down but he stopped her. He grabbed her hand and pulled his lips away from her's. His eyes filled with a deep need, a deep hunger.

"Leave the blanket, Lucy." He was slightly out of breath, his words coming out in heavy breaths. He pulled up her hand and nearly kissed it before moving it against his check, holding it there, seemingly loving her touch. She moved it out of his grasp and put it behind his head, twirling her fingers into his pink hair she ever-so-gently pulled his head back towards her's. She heard a small, satisfying, moan escape his lips before they were kissing again and pulling each other closer. That blanket still separating them. Her hand was just maneuvering its way towards his back when he jerked up and turned away from her, a small blush on his checks. "We should stop." She didn't want to stop. She had wanted him for so long. But, he was probably right. This was going too fast. Still, she reached out a hand and gently pulled him back down next to her. Running a hand through his pink hair she softly muttered, "Ok," before gently massaging his scalp. His eyes closed and the heated anticipation in the room slowly began to dissolve as he relaxed into her soft touch. After several minutes he opened his eyes and took her hand to hold it. Inches apart she waited with bated breaths for words she longed to hear.

"Lucy…"

'Yes?"

"Will you go out on a date with me?"

Well, they weren't exactly the words she hoped to hear, but close enough.

She pulled him in for another short kiss and a happy yes.

Author's Note:

Hello Everyone! I hope you are enjoying the story. I want to finish this up within the next month. Please, reviews would be so helpful to know if you are interested in the story continuing and I would love to know your thoughts and what the story is making you feel. Please review, and thank you in advance! I would really love at least one review before posting the next chapter.

~FeaudalAi


	10. Chapter 10

Lucy was nervous. Her fingers fiddled with the side of her dark blue dress. It had been a week and two days since Natsu asked her out on a date. Nine long days. But tonight was the night. She was waiting for him at her apartment. Erza and Levy had taken her shopping for a new dress that fit around her expanding belly. She was happy to see, though, that her bump didn't look that bad in the dress. The fabric was slightly velvety and clung tightly to her breasts before slowly loosening its hold after that. It swayed around her like the ocean, dark and beautiful. She had her hair tied back in a simple, messy, yet elegant, bun. The only downside to the whole night was Gray.

When he found out about the date the day after Natsu asked, it became awkward. Things had started to improve and even though he had told her he knew Natsu would really be in her and the babies' lives the actual reality of it happening seemed to irk him the wrong way. There wasn't much that could be done about that though. She tried to reassure him with gentle glances and by starting to talk about all the things they were going to need for the babies. To plan ahead with him so that he knew, for sure, that he would be involved. But, the only one who seemed to give him any comfort was Juvia and Lucy did not want to get in her way. Juvia was on a mission to make Gray happy. Lucy just hoped that he would finally tell her outright how he felt and ask her out. It was about time he got together with Juvia after all.

A soft knock on her door let her know that Natsu had finally arrived. He waited for her to open it, being patient for once. When she did she couldn't help but gasp. He had gotten dressed up for the occasion. A nice pair of slacks and a deep red dress shirt. His hair flopped to the side as he stared at her and she couldn't help but blush and nervously straighten her dress.

"You ready, Lucy?" His smile lit up her world. It made her hands tremble slightly in anticipation.

She nodded slightly and his smile grew before he took her hand. That's how they stayed the entire walk. She had no idea where they were going. All she knew, all she cared about, was the feeling of her hand in his. This is what she wanted, to be with him, to be near him. To be his… She was in a daze so she almost bumped into him when they stopped walking. She looked around and couldn't help her eyebrows from raising in confusion. One look at her confused face and his eyes lit up as he let out a small chuckle.

"Over here." His voice was gruff and soft at the same time as he gently pulled her onto the grass and towards a large tree. It sat on a hill slightly overlooking a river and a bit of Magnolia. It was quiet, scenic, and simply beautiful. It was romantic. As the rounded the top of the small hill and were at the base of the tree she noticed there was a blanket laid out beside it. "I hope you don't mind," he said nervously as his hand went up to run through his pink hair, "I thought a picnic might be nice. I, um, got the food from a nice place downtown. Levy helped me pick…" He was fidgeting a little more now as he stared at her. "I hope its ok?" It was like a half question the way he said it, so nervous and adorable.

She smiled up at him and grabbed his hand again to gently pull him down onto the blanket with her. When she was sitting comfortably she looked up at him and beamed. "I love it Natsu, it is wonderful."

His smile was gigantic and he pulled the huge picnic basket up next to them. "I hope you like the food too." He couldn't stop smiling, he tilted his head at her and gave her a small smirk, his hair flopping to the side. It was so cute she just wanted to reach up and run her fingers through it, but she resisted. It wasn't time yet.

The date went wonderfully. The food was delicious and they talked like they always did. There was nothing awkward, it was easy. They fit together. It was as simple as that. The subject of the baby and Gray never came up. It was carefully avoided by them both. There was no need to talk about it at that moment, later, yes. But, not on their first date. They stayed so long they watched the sun set and the stars gently begin to rise into the fading sky. It was a beautiful mix of embers and sparkles that amazed Lucy. The sun seemed to be melting into the earth as the icy stars began to sparkle behind it. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and sighed. She was so happy in that moment. She smiled when she felt his head lean on top of hers and one of his hands intertwine their fingers. Her heart beat erratically. The moment was perfect. This was what she had wanted for so long. This wonderful, beautiful, first date with Natsu. This was what she wanted with her life. To live it with him. To be by his side, forever.

She felt his fingers twitch as he let out a nervous breath. The air was changing to an almost tense anticipation. She had no idea what he was going to do next. He let go of her hand, and instead, placed it on her belly. She gasped. The area where his hand laid felt so hot. She relaxed back into him, his nervous breaths slightly subsiding, as they both reveled in the love they could feel in that moment. Well, at least Lucy could feel it. Him willingly putting his hand there, so lovingly, without a word, meant so much to her. It had literally taken her breath away for a short moment.

The sun had almost finished setting when the comfortable silence was broken by him gently clearing his throat.

"Lucy?"

"Mhm?" She nodded her head slightly as she leaned it a bit more into him.

"This was fun, wasn't it?"

She could feel the way his body slightly tensed as he waited for an answer. She smirked a little and leaned back to look him in the eyes. "Natsu, it was simply amazing."

His smile was huge and he wrapped her up in a hug. She was so close to him, she could feel his heart beating in his chest. He leaned back slightly and reached up one hand to tilt her head a bit back. Their lips were only a few inches apart. Suddenly, the air between them seemed to become heavy and hot, filled with anticipation and need. His breath halted and she felt all the hair on her arms stand up. She was nervous and she wasn't even sure why. But, somehow, she knew this was a moment that she would remember for the rest of her life. The moment everything would truly change between them. His lips moved a bit closer to hers and he stared into her eyes. His eyes were filled with passion, a desperate yearning that begged to be recognized and released.

"Lucy…"

She gulped, unable to say anything in that moment.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steading himself, before opening them and staring daringly deep into her soul. "I love you."

Her whole world aligned in that single moment. The moment those words left this lips she knew she would never be the same. She was where she belonged. In his strong arms, by his side, together, forever. Before she could even really process what had just happened her body simply reacted. It leaned automatically into the touch she had wanted for so long. Her lips were against his in an instant in a loving and passionate kiss. Her hands begged him to be closer, one reaching up and diving into his hair while the other curled around the nape of his neck. As if answering her silent call his hands found their way around her, encircling her waist in such a loving way that she felt like she would melt into his embrace. It was the perfect moment. They way things should have been if nothing had happened between her and Gray. But, now wasn't the moment to think about that. She was simply absorbed in his kiss, in his embrace, in his love. Her breathing was fast and her heart rate was elevated. She felt like she could fly from this feeling. Too soon he gently pulled away. He smiled at her begging expression as he cupped her face and ran one hand through her hair. He waited a moment before he smirked at her. She had relaxed into his touch, loving the feeling of his hand softly combing through her hair.

"So?" He muttered softly.

"So…" She was lost in a daze. She had no idea what he could want at that minute. He leaned forward and stopped touching her hair. Instead, he cupped the back of his head and touched his lips gently to the outside of her ear and whispered. His hot breath making her tingle all over. "Do you love me Lucy?"

He pulled back and she gasped. She had dove straight in for the kiss before she could give him a proper reply. She smiled nervously and reached to take both of his hands in hers, entwining their fingers. She never wanted to let go. She looked back up at him, into his beautiful eyes, and took a deep breath. She was nervous. She knew that didn't make sense. But, still, she was nervous.

"I love you Natsu. I have for a long, long, time." She smiled and he leaned in for a kiss again. This one was softer but still filled with love. He pulled away and gently leaned both of them back onto the blanket. They were laying down with her head positioned on top of his chest, his one arm holding her in place while the other hand reached up to pull her hand onto his stomach. They simply held each other like that for a while, watching the stars glimmer in the distance and listening to the gentle hush of the leaves in the wind.

"Will you be my girlfriend Lucy?"

She could hear his heart beat speed up. She smiled into his chest and tightened her grip on his hand. She could even feel his abbs underneath his shirt. It made her blush. "I'd love to Natsu."

His grip on her tightened as he let out a happy sigh. In that moment, for that night, everything else seemed to disappear for a while. But, of course, it couldn't disappear forever. Natsu had sat up and pulled her close, going in for another kiss, when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" She asked, impatient for the next kiss, the next moment of intimacy between them.

"Are you ok?" He looked worried and his hand reached up to wipe underneath her nose. When he pulled it back she saw blood. "Your nose… It's bleeding."

"Oh!" She quickly sat back and grabbed a tissue from the picnic basket and held it to her nose. She sat there for a moment, silent, unsure of if she should bring up the topic. But, his worried gaze meant that she would have to explain her random nose bleed. She took the tissue away, noticing the blood had already stopped, and took a deep breath.

"Lucy, really, are you ok? What's wrong?"

"It's from the pregnancy. This can happen sometimes at this point in the pregnancy. Increased blood flow can, sometimes, cause nose bleeds." She waited for his response as they both absorbed the idea, once again, that they weren't really alone right now. It took him a minute but he seemed to not be too shocked, startled, or upset by her pregnancy returning to the forefront of both of their minds.

"Ah, I see. But, you're ok right?" He still looked a bit worried as he leaned forward to wipe off a bit more of dried blood she had missed.

She felt like, in that moment, she loved him even more. They would make this work somehow. She had no idea how. But, they would make it work. "Yes, I'm alright."

"Let's get you home, ok?"

She nodded. She was feeling rather worn out and exhausted and it hit her right in that moment. They packed up the picnic materials and began the walk back to her apartment, hand in hand, and smiling.

~ Hello, everyone! ~

I'm sorry it has been so long since I posted. I moved countries and it became very hectic. I promise you, I will finish this story. Please stick in there with me! Thank you for all the reviews so far. I really appreciate each and every one of them. Let me know what you think of this chapter please.


	11. Chapter 11

~ About 2 months later ~

Lucy's stomach was big now. She felt like she was carrying around an entire world. Well, there were two babies in their after all. She kept having to remind herself of that. She was gigantic because there was not one, but two babies inside of her. She could firmly feel their kicks now. She smiled faintly as she remembered the first time she ever felt a big kick, one that was big enough for even other people to feel.

About one month ago she was out walking with Natsu. The day was cooling a bit and they were walking hand-in-hand around Magnolia. They had just finished eating at a small cafe and were in their own little blissful world when she felt it. It was a strange sensation, but it was movement. More than the butterflies she usually felt. She looked down at her ever expanding belly for a moment before continuing her conversation with Natsu. He had looked at her, slightly concerned, but when she didn't say anything he let it go and they carried on as usual. About fifteen minutes later she stopped suddenly. She had felt it again, even stronger this time. Her hands flew to her belly, and, sure enough, she could actually feel it. Her eyes widened and she gasped as she immediately reached out to grab Natsu's hand. He looked startled but as soon as his hand was on her tummy the babies started kicking like crazy. He could feel their little kicks against his hand. She was starting to tear up and she couldn't stop a giant smile from spreading across her face.

"Natsu… There are really little people in there. Babies…"

He seemed frozen. His face was locked in one of shock. She was starting to feel nervous when he squared down and placed his other hand on her belly as well. His face seemed to melt as a smile spread slowly across his lips.

"The babies…" He muttered under his breath before he leaned in and kissed her stomach. The feeling of his kiss and their kicks nearly sent her over the edge with happiness. "I love you little ones." With that she was pulling him up and into a desperate and loving kiss, her belly and the kicking babies pressed firmly between them.

It wasn't until a week later that she thought about how Gray would feel.

They were at the guild hall and the others were discussing their recent jobs. Ever since Natsu and Gray's fight, they had been splitting her rent. It seemed to calm both of their tempers, at least for a while. But, while she was with Natsu almost every day, she didn't see Gray much except for at a doctors appointment (which Natsu now attended also) or at the guild hall. Without her even realizing it, he was getting left out of the entire experience. They were all talking and she went quiet. She could feel the babies kicking again. She looked over at Natsu happily and grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach. Not thinking first she said, "They are kicking again…" She closed her eyes and leaned her head over onto Natsu's shoulder. Only when he slowly pulled his hand away and she opened her eyes did she notice the suddenly tense atmosphere at their table. Gray was staring daggers at Natsu before his eyes trailed slowly to her belly. He just looked at her longingly. Juvia reached over and grabbed his hand. He didn't let go, but tightened his grip, entwining their fingers. Still, his gaze did not move from Lucy. His eyes went up to meet hers and she realized what she had done. She had excluded him from an important moment in the pregnancy. He had missed the first kick of his babies, but, even worse, was that she had never told him it had happened in the first place. She felt a pang of guilt and regret shoot through her as the realization truly hit home.

"Gray, I'm sorry…" Her voice trailed off, weak and timid. His face steeled over as he stood up from the table, dragging a sad Juvia behind him.

"It's fine." His voice was firm leaving no room for debate or further apologizes. Lucy looked down at the table for a moment before looking up and seeing his head was turned away from her and Juvia was staring at her with the most disapproving look she had ever seen on her face. "We need to go." Juvia grabbed onto his arm a little tighter and within a minute they were out of the guild hall and Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Levy were all sitting in a silent stupor at the table.

"So, the babies kicked, huh?" Erza smirked with a happy smile as she tried to dislodge the stiff atmosphere.

That memory still haunted her. She had let Gray down. Ever since, she had tried to keep him more involved. But, he didn't leave anywhere near her. Natsu came over every night and Gray was usually with Juvia or on a job. She still only saw him at doctor appointments and at the guild hall. The atmosphere between them was still a bit tense. She knew that she had hurt him and she was determined to keep him involved, but it was much harder than she had thought it would be to actually do that.

She tried to forget what had happened for a moment as her and Natsu walked around Magnolia. They were doing this a lot lately and she was so thankful, she needed that bit of exercise instead of sitting in one place all day. She needed to be up and moving, to be active. They were just passing a baby store when it hit her once more that they needed to start buying stuff soon. She had also realized a few weeks ago that she would need to find a bigger place to live. She didn't like thinking about that though,s he loved her apartment. She stared at the store, pausing her walk. Natsu smirked slightly and his hair flopped to the side making her smile. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Do you want to go inside?"

She had been trying her best not to explore the baby stuff too deeply with him around. While most of the time he seemed like he accepted the whole thing, sometimes, she could see the crack in the facade. Of course it still bothered him. But here he was, supporting her, loving her, and being with her all the time. They still hadn't done more than kiss, it seemed wrong when her belly was ever-expanding with Gray's twins. Plus, she reasoned with herself, it was too soon to take it any farther with him. He was being the most amazing and understanding boyfriend ever. She still couldn't help but be surprised by just how understanding and tender he could be. It was a side to him that she hadn't seen very often before they became a couple.

She nodded at him and they went inside. She still didn't know what the gender of the babies were. They wouldn't stay still so the sonogram technician couldn't get a good picture. Still, she couldn't help but stare at the baby clothes. All the adorable dresses seemed to beg her to buy them. She separated from Natsu as she looked around, when she found him again she saw that he was holding a small stuffed dragon and a deep red fuzzy blanket. He was feeling the material and looked up at her with a hesitant, but hopeful, gaze. She went over and gently grabbed them from him, feeling the soft and fluffy material. Her heart leapt into her throat, he wanted to get these for the babies, she knew it, because they reminded him of Igneel. She didn't need to say a word, all she did was nod and his smile lit up the store as he went up to the front to pay for them. He bought them. The first real things the babies were ever bought. As they walked out of the store she leaned against him, holding his arm, and breathing in his scent. She wanted to memorize every part of him. Even though they spent everyday together, it never felt like enough. She would never become tired of him.

"I love you, Natsu." She smiled into his shoulder, breathing in deeply.

He laughed a little and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I love you too, Lucy."

Their quiet little moment was then promptly interrupted by the scariest moment of her life.

It was odd, she felt a slight pain in her stomach. She looked down at it but then decided it was nothing before looking back at the items Natsu had bought. A few minutes later the pain was back, but much stronger. Immediately, she keeled over in pain, dropping to the ground with a loud grunt.

"Lucy! What's wrong? Are you ok?" Natsu's worried voice floated around her head as his head reached down to pull her up. But, before he could do that, another pain tore her body in half. She tried to stifle her loud moan of pain but he still heard it. "You're not ok." He looked down at her determined before lifting her up in his arms. Normally, she would worry about how heavy she was in that moment, but all her thoughts were on the babies. "I'm taking you to the hospital." She nodded in silent agreement as she wrapped her stomach in her arms. She couldn't loose them… She loved them so much already… She couldn't loose them…

She could feel the fear spilling out of her, small tears dripped down her cheeks. She looked up at Natsu and his jaw was clenched tight. He was running with her, as fast as he could, to the hospital. He was worried. They both were. She couldn't help but be terrified. Soon, they are in the hospital and the staff quickly got her into a bed. Their reassuring smiles only made her more uneasy as the Doctor began various tests. The pain had started to fade away and her heart was gripped with a kind of panic that is impossible to describe. Natsu sat with her, holding her hand, face tight and brows furrowed. He was trying hard not to show how worried he was. Even though these babies were not biologically his, he had fallen in love with them.

When the tests were finished and they were waiting for the results Lucy finally managed to think clearly for a moment. She rubbed the back of Natsu's hand lightly with her thumb and leaned in for a reassuring kiss. His kiss was soft and caring. He wrapped his arms around her and she dug her head into the crook of his neck and, in that moment, she couldn't hold it back anymore. She cried. He rubbed her back softly and kissed her head and cheek, ever so slowly helping her to calm down. She leaned back and stared at him. He was her home.

"Natsu, I think we need to get Gray…" Her voice trailed off and his eyes lit up with the sudden realization. Gray had been left out again, not intentionally, but still. He was missing something important, something terrifying that he really needed to know about. He couldn't be excluded from this. "Could you please go get him?"

"Are you sure? We don't know when the doctor…" She didn't let him finish. She laid her hand gently on top of his and the look in her eyes simply said, 'now'. He nodded and in a flash he was out the door and on the way to get the real dad of the babies. As much as they didn't want to face the fact, Natsu was not the biological dad. Things were going to be complicated, and that was that.

A few minutes later the doctor came in. He sat down beside her and explained the situation. Everything was ok. She was only having early Braxton Hicks contractions and the babies were moving there positions. They had done a scan to ensure that they hadn't moved in such a way as to have the umbilical cord hurt them and he ensured her that they were perfect fine. She breathed a sigh of relief and the massive amount of tension and anxiety that was bottled up inside of her seemed to disappear in an instant. She was fine, the babies were fine, they were all fine.

About twenty minutes later a crazed Gray ran into the room. He looked wild. His eyes were fierce and filled with worry, his hair was in a disarray, and he was nearly out of breath. Natsu came in shortly after him, a bit more calm and collected, but also almost out of breath. They must have sprinted here as fast as they could.

"Lucy! Are you ok?" Gray was by her side now, a worried look plastered on his face. She reached out and grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. She could feel the babies gentle kicks once more and was relieved. Gray's face froze for a moment before a nervous smile spread across his lips. She hadn't done this yet. He had never felt them kick. As soon as she saw his face light up with child-like joy she gave them both the news.

"It was nothing, really. The doctor said that the babies and I are going to be completely want me to stay overnight just to check the cord position but everything is ok." She could hear Natsu let out an audible sigh of relief, but he didn't come sit next to her. Gray muttered a, 'thank goodness', but simply placed his other hand on her stomach, entranced by the kicking of his children. Lucy looked over at Natsu and saw a pained look on his face. He was staring at Gray, at his hands on her stomach, and at the image the two exuded in that moment. From an outsider's perspective, they looked like a perfect and happy couple expecting their first bundles of joy. They looked like they were together. Of course, Natsu knew better than that, but still, the image of them together, of Gray having something so intimate with Lucy that he did not have, was yet another painful reminder of their situation. He took a step back and simply waited. It seemed like forever, but it was only just five minutes, before Gray removed his hands. He looked at Natsu and Lucy before leaning back in his chair and making a declaration.

"I can't do this anymore."

Lucy's eyes widened and Natsu simply reacted with a loud voice as he came beside Lucy. "What do you mean you can't do this anymore?!"

Gray's eyes were a bit cold and he shot a warning glance at Natsu. "I'm missing out Lucy. I'm missing out on everything I should be a part of." His gaze darted to her stomach for a second before he continued. "I need to be involved, you promised me that Lucy."

Lucy nodded. "Of course your involved…" His disapproving look silenced her. She knew it, he knew it, Natsu knew it, everyone knew it, he was missing out. She sighed and grabbed Natsu's hand to calm his fiery temper. She felt him relax beneath her touch as he sat down beside her. "What can we do to fix it?"

"I thought of something." He paused for what appeared to be dramatic effect before continuing. "We should move into together. You need a new place now anyways, yours is too small."

The air was stiff between them before Natsu exploded. He was standing up, fists clenched, as he tried to keep his voice level. "You are NOT moving in together."

Gray just looked at him with steely eyes. "They are not your babies Natsu. They are mine, and you are getting to do all the things that I should be doing."

Lucy could feel Natsu's temper rise even more and she carefully placed her hand on his chest, silently begging him to relax and calm down. His eyes flashed down at her and she could see the fire inside. He was hurt, he was angry, and it even seemed like he was a little scared that she would say yes.

"You're right Gray," Natsu tried to start protesting but she shot him a glare, "I do need a new place. I was just thinking about that actually." Natsu seemed to visibly relax a little bit at her words since she hand't outright agreed with Gray. "Still, I don't think we should live together." Now she could feel Gray's frustration beginning to seep over and she put up a hand asking him to wait. "I don't think Natsu or Juvia would like that. I don't think it would work out well in the end for us or the babies. But…" She trailed off as she composed her thoughts. "What if we lived next to each other? Apartments or houses beside each other? That way you are just right next door, you wouldn't miss out on their lives." She looked down at her stomach and placed both of her hands lovingly on top of it. "What do you think? Natsu? Gray?" She turned to look at them and they both seemed lost within a haze of their own frustration and hurt. She could feel the babies moving again so she grabbed one of both of their hands and placed it on her stomach. All the tension, the frustration, and the hurt seemed to evaporate in that moment. Those babies were just love personified. This situation was difficult, but they were a family. "We are a family now. We need to learn how to make this work, even though it is hard. We need to learn for these two little ones because we already love them with all our hearts. We need to give them a good life. So please, agree to this. Lets live beside each other."

It was silent for a moment as they were both lost in thought before they each muttered their acceptance and continued to feel the babies move within her belly. This was their family. Their odd, misshapen, family, and she loved every one of them.

~ Hello, everyone!~

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. What do you think? Should they get apartments or houses? What gender do you think the babies are?

Please review! I truly appreciate it and it helps me find the inspiration to write more.

Thank you for your support.


	12. Chapter 12

~ 1 month later, a little over 7 months pregnant ~

Lucy sighed down at her stomach as the little ones kicked again. She leaned back a bit and placed her hand on the small of her back to rub it where it was sore. They had been apartment hunting all day and she had been on her swollen feet for hours. Her back was starting to kill her. Still, she wasn't going to complain. She was trying her best not to let the two combative men know she was in a bit of pain. The day had been, well, a bit rough. Both Natsu and Gray had different ideas of what her new place would be like and on how far apart they should actually live. While Gray wanted to be less than a block at most, Natsu preferred him to be at least three blocks away. He wouldn't give a reason for this, but he was pretty adamant on it. Gray thought two bedrooms would be fine, but Natsu wanted three or four. Once again, he wasn't forthcoming about his reason. Every time it seemed like they had found a good place, someone would find a reason to bash the idea. It was really starting to irritate her. They had been looking at apartments and houses, buying and renting, still unsure of how much they wanted to (and how much they could) actually spend. They were going to their last house of the day, an exasperated realtor leading them, when it felt like a miracle happened.

They were a bit out of town, desperately trying to find a place that didn't cost as much as those in central Magnolia, when she saw it and she knew from that moment that she wanted it. She wanted it bad. It was a beautiful two story house. The outside was painted a faded white and some ivy crawled up the right side of it. There were two big bay windows downstairs boarding the dark brown door. The roof shingles were a deep shade of blue and she was instantly struck by its unique look. A small wooden fence surrounded what she could see of the yard. She smiled, she couldn't believe the place actually had a yard. Plus, it was only about a fifteen minute walk from the guild.

The realtor ushered them inside and they began their exploration, the men oddly silent. When you came in the door there were dark hardwood floors and a very light beige painted on the walls. You walked into a small entry way where you could take off your shoes and jackets before opening a second door. Once through, to the left was a small study with a large built-in-bookshelf. This room had one of the bay windows. There was an ornate wooden desk already in place with a small plaid carpet beneath it. An odd choice, but she was already falling even more in love with it. She could see herself working in there with plenty of space for her books. To the right was the living room where a small fireplace with an adorable carved mantel sat against the far wall. This room had the other bay window which let in a lot of light. A giant brown couch and a coffee table were in the room, making her imagine what it would look like with a few pictures. straight across from the living room was the kitchen and dinning combo. The kitchen was semi-updated and had a nice breakfast bar with stools. The dinning area was adjacent with a nice table that could fit six people. There was a beautiful sliding door that led out to a patio behind it. They took a peak at the back yard and her smile grew even bigger when she saw the space. It wasn't large but it was a good size with a giant tree in the far corner and small bushes and flowers were growing around the fence. The stairs were to the left of the dining room (next to a small half bathroom), in front of the study. They were sturdy and made of dark wood. Up stairs there were three bedrooms. One was a decent size, clearly the master, looking out the front side of the house with two large windows, with a small walk-in closet, while the other two were a tad small. Even though they were small, the closets were long and they had big windows looking out onto the back yard. The only downside was that there was only one bathroom upstairs, but it had two sinks which were separate from everything else. The toilet had its own small room while the shower and bath were right beside it. Lucy could hardly breath. She wanted this house. It was even furnished! There was no furniture in the smaller bedrooms but the master had a large bed and nice dresser. It was just enough to get started. It was perfect for her budding family. When they went downstairs the real talk began, and she was nervous.

"What's the catch?" Gray said, his voice stern.

The realtor smiled nervously and fiddled with her fingers. Gary and Natsu together could be quite intimidating to a trained wizard, let alone an everyday person. "Well, um, the price is a littler higher than what you told me… But, it comes with all the furniture and, um, there is another house for sale two doors down."

Gray sat frozen. It was clear what he was thinking. He wanted to see that other house, now. Natsu's face was a bit more, difficult to read. It almost seemed like he was frozen. The realtor sat, waiting, for him to chirp in like he had every time before but he kept his mouth shut. Soon, they were down looking at the other house. It was smaller, one story, made of dark wood with black shingles. There was an open concept living/dinning/kitchen room to the right while two bedrooms lined the left beside a large bathroom. There was also a yard here, bigger than at the other place, with a fire pit already ready. Gray smiled. It was clear he liked this place, especially because it was so tantalizingly close to the other house. They sat down and had a real talk with the agent. Natsu, oddly, still completely silent. They discussed prices and decided they would put in an offer. They would buy. They would be owners, not renters. Lucy turned nervously to Natsu… The price was a little much for just her alone but they had never truly discussed living together officially. He was splitting her bill payments with Gray and she waited for his silent nod before she enthusiastically agreed to her brand new home. She couldn't believe it. She was a home owner. They were a home owner. It was like a fantasy.

When they got back to her apartment that night Gray rushed off quickly to go tell Juvia the news. They still weren't officially dating yet, but Lucy thought it could be any day now. She could tell, Gray was so close to simply letting himself have what he so desired. He needed to stop punishing himself and just enjoy life and the love Juvia so willingly gave to him. Lucy was lying on the bed, her giant stomach in the air above her. She looked over at Natsu and sighed. She rolled over onto her side, a slight wince due to the pain in her back, and looked at him. She didn't like him being this quiet. It was wrong.

"Natsu?" She said gently. He looked over at her with slightly dazed eyes and made his way to the bed, sitting upright beside her.

"Lucy." Is all he muttered, his voice deep, before he leaned down and snuggled up beside her, face to face, arms around each other, their breath heating up the space between them. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her, seemingly steadying himself for what he was about to say. "It feels like this all is real." She looked at him puzzled. What in the world did he mean by that? He sighed before continuing, "It just, ugh, really hit me when I saw that house. I knew you'd love it…" She smiled slightly as her fingers twitched against his back, nervous for what he was about to say. "Suddenly, I could see you, the twins, and Gray there. A family." She frowned slightly at the direction the conversation was going. "I couldn't see me." He paused for a moment before continuing. "It became all so much more real, that you will be having that kind of life together and not with me…"

"Natsu, I'm not living with him, I'm not dating him…" She had barely said the words when he abruptly sat up and started pacing in front of the bed before turning to look at her. She sat up too, unable to remain lying down without him beside her.

"That's not what I mean!" His hands balled into small fists before relaxing. She could tell that he was battling within himself, fighting off his own anger, anxiety, and frustration. "How can I explain this to you…" She couldn't help but notice that slight look of pain in his eyes and in the way his muscles tensed, she wanted to look away, but she forced herself to keep agonizing eye contact with him. "As much as I want to be, I am not in that picture. I can't see myself there. Gray has everything I want!" She could tell his frustration was mounting. The fire was burning in his eyes and his fists were constantly clenching and unclenching as he stood there confronting her. "Lucy, let's face it, I am not their Dad." He huffed, she could see a gleam of tears in his eyes and she had to fight back the urge to cry. "He is their Dad and now you will be living right next to each other. You will be a family and I'm just some strangler off on the side." His head bowed down and his gruff voice went soft. She couldn't see his eyes anymore as his pink hair flopped over them. Lucy stood up and walked over to him, grabbing his hands in hers. "Lucy, I…" His voice broke a bit and he lifted up his head, she could see tears dripping down his face and she couldn't help but start to cry too.

"Natsu…"

"No, let me finish Lucy." He breathed in deep, trying to stop his tears, before he continued with shaky breaths. "No matter how much we both wish it, it doesn't change the fact that you were with Gray." His voice cracked a little more. Even though they had been together for a while now, they had never really discussed what had happened that night since she had told him about it. "You two kissed, before we did, you guys did…" He couldn't seem to make himself say the actual word, "it… You guys did it and we love each other and we haven't even… I try not to think about it but with your stomach getting even bigger and with today it was all just so real." He removed a hand from hers and ran it through his hair. He walked back over to the bed, dragging her with him, and sat down. They sat there for a minute before he continued. "Lucy, it hurts."

With that there was silence. She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder. She didn't know what she could do. She didn't know how to help him through this, she still struggled with the reality of it herself. He leaned down so he was laying on the bed and she nuzzled up to his side, her head comfortably placed in the crook of his neck. She leaned so she could gently kiss his neck.

"I love you Natsu." Her voice was soft and loving, trying her best to be comforting.

He didn't respond.

Yes, she loved to pretend that everything was perfectly fine. That they were all just one giant mushed up happy family. But, they weren't. There was going to be a lot of bumps along the road. This, was just one of those bumps. Albeit, one of those bumps that made her heart ache in unspeakable ways. She did this to him. Yea the magic imbued in the room played a part but that doesn't change the fact that it had happened. They laid that way for a while as she worked up the courage to ask him something that she realized she wanted desperately as soon as they had bought the house.

"Natsu?" She felt him turn towards her more, wrapping an arm around her, but he didn't answer. "I have a question."

It was quiet for a minute before she heard him speak. "Yea?" His voice was soft, slightly broken, and she couldn't help but feel at least a little bit happy that he was letting her see him even when he was hurting, that she was letting him be there for him.

"When the new house is available…" The realtor had said it would probably be about two weeks before they could move into the new homes. "Would you like to move in together?"

The room went even more silent and his body went stiff. Not the reaction she had hoped for or expected. After several minutes he sat up, not looking at her. She sat up too, her hands nervously fiddling with the sheets.

"I can't." His voice was firm.

She gulped and tried not to let her emotions show too much. "Why?"

He reached a hand over and grabbed hers, squeezing it lightly, still not looking at her. "Lucy, I just, I can't." His voice was soft in a heart-wrenching way. She nodded and squeezed his hand back. Her happy day had taken an odd, unexpected, and emotional path. She didn't even know what she was feeling right now. She wanted to cry and smile all at once, her hormones were a crazy mess.

It wasn't much longer till Natsu left for the night and she felt completely alone in the world. She laid on her bed, gentle kicks in her stomach reminding her that she would never actually be alone again. Yet, regardless off that, she felt completely alone in that moment. She didn't know why Natsu had acted the way he did today, but she couldn't deny that he had the right to be upset. He hadn't acted out at all. He had been ignoring the truth that was only becoming more and more impossible to ignore as her stomach expanded and the reality of the babies came even closer. She closed her eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

~ 2 weeks later ~

Lucy sat, exhausted, on her couch. They had just finished moving Gray and herself into their new homes. Almost everyone from the guild had helped but still, the effort left her and her nearly eight month baby bump exhausted. She leaned her head back and smiled as she looked at the ceiling. She was here, in her own home. She placed her hands on her belly and could feel the babies moving inside. She could feel the ever-present need to start shopping for everything they would need. There wasn't much time left, and if they came early she would be in trouble if she didn't start shopping soon. The house felt quiet now that everyone was gone. Natsu and her hadn't talked about what had happened two weeks ago. It was almost as if they were scared to approach the subject again, scared of what it would bring up, scared of the memories and fears that would surface if they truly confronted the past. He was still there for her, every day, only going off on missions to help with the bills. She heard him walk over and sit down beside her on the couch and she turned to face him. She couldn't help but smile. The image of him there, of them together, and her giant stomach was like a dream. Well, except for the part that the babies were not his.

"So, you finally have your own place?" He smirked and quirked his head, his hair flopping adorably to the side. Still, she couldn't help but frown a little when he said 'your own' as if he had nothing to do with the new house, the babies, or this new life.

She smiled faintly up at him before nodding. "Yea, I can hardly believe it. It's all coming, so soon Natsu."

His eyes traveled down to her stomach and instead of his usually loving gaze he looked cautious and even, perhaps, worried. "Yea, you're going to have a family soon."

She tried to look at him reassuringly. "I already have a family Natsu. You."

His face lit up for a moment but then it went away again. Lately, it was hard to get him to really smile. It was clear something was on his mind, that their conversation from before was on his mind. She knew they were going to have to talk about it again and they might as well do it now. She leaned against him on the couch and curled into him, his hand combing through her long silky hair.

"I love you Natsu."

She could feel him lean down and kiss her head and the wonderful feeling made her dread the conversation they were about to have.

"I love you too, Lucy."

She rolled over and looked at him, her head in his lap. She could see him so well from here, with his head bent down their faces were so close, she could read his expressions so easily.

"Natsu, don't you think that we are your family now too?"

He sighed and reached down a hand to continue running his fingers through her hair. "I want to think that Lucy. You are my family…"

He let that thought dangle there, the subtext clear. He thought she was his family, but maybe not the babies, or especially Gray…

"Natsu, these babies are your family too. They are going to love you. I want them to grow up with you, I want them to be like your children, I want you to be like a Dad to them…" With that his hand clenched slightly in her hair before it continued its soothing stroking motion.

"But I'm not, am I Lucy?" This time around there was no anger in his voice, just sad acceptance of the truth that laid gigantic in front of him. "I can never be what Gray is to them, or what he is to you."

Her eyebrows furrowed up and she sat there confused for a minute. "Gray and I are nothing. We are friends."

Natsu sighed and took his hand out of her hair and gently placed it on her stomach. "He has done this with you, he gave you your first babies, he was with you first… Lucy he even kissed you before I did." He looked longingly at her lips before his eyes moved to her stomach. "These babies, I want to be their Dad, but I can never be what Gray is to them or he is to you Lucy. He is the father of your children and I'm not."

Lucy reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, having him turn to face her, his hand still lovingly placed on her stomach. "I can't deny that Gray is their father. I can't deny that, yes…" Tears began to prick her eyes, "… he did all those things with me before you. But, we can all still be a family. He has those things with me, but that doesn't mean you cant have them too in the future if its what you want. Natsu, that's what I want. I want you. I want a life together. I want to have your babies one day…" His face started to light up but she continued, it was important that she finished. "Natsu, I want us together in this house."

"Lucy…" He leaned down and kissed her, hard, before pulling back. "I want that too. It's just, I'm not sure how this is going to work exactly. It hurts Lucy…" He turned his head away from her, the short happy moment over. "I want this more than anything but it hurts Lucy. You say there is nothing between you two but I see the way he looks at you sometimes, I see how you act together…"

"Natsu we don't act like that together. Yes, we are closer than we used to be. That is true. But we don't have those feelings for each other."

He looked at her a bit speculatively. "Lucy, I know I haven't done it yet but I imagine having a child together is going to change things. Even if you say there is nothing now…"

"Natsu," her voice was firm, "there is nothing. He loves Juvia."

Natsu just looked at her and smiled faintly. She could tell he was hurting. He tried not to let it show, but once in a while she could tell how much the whole thing hurt him and she couldn't help but think back to discarded flowers and a broken Natsu who had picked up her ultrasound pictures from the street.

"Natsu?"

"Yea?"

"The day… the day you found out about me…" he winced a little but she was determined to keep going, "Were you bringing me flowers? What was your plan?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit distraught. "Lucy, I don't like thinking about that day, I thought… I thought I was going to kill someone." His eyes met hers and with reluctance he continued. "I was coming to ask you to dinner. I wanted to ask you out. I had it all planed, the flowers, the restaurant, the kiss… Then I saw you with Gray. I knew something was wrong, the way you two were together. Then I saw you nearly fall and he caught you, I was relieved for a second before I saw those pictures on the ground. Lucy…"

She reached a hand down and placed it on top of his on top of her stomach, squeezing his hand lightly. "Please, Natsu, please continue."

"My heart shattered Lucy." He looked away from her, his voice gruff. "I don't like saying these things, but I broke Lucy. I thought you two were dating, I saw you were having babies, I felt betrayed. Completely. Utterly. Betrayed." She could feel the anger come back into his voice and she realized that maybe, she shouldn't have asked the question. "My world broke, all my dreams vanished. I could never…. I knew I could never…" He looked at her with a dawning realization and moved her so he could stand up. She stood up too and held quickly onto his hands so that he wouldn't escape the little house. "I know it was the room." His voice was so stiff, it was like ice, immobile and hard. "But Lucy, it still kills me." He looked at her, his eyes desperate and watery. "I need time to think…"

"Natsu, no, please stay…" Her voice was pleading, tears already falling down her cheeks as he gently removed her fingers from his hands and walked to the door.

"Lucy I'm sorry, but I need time."

"Why didn't you take time months ago!" She couldn't help but yell, her voice cracked as the tears intensified.

He choked up, she could see a tear fall down his face and it made her break a little inside. "I thought I had. I thought I had Lucy." He was at the door now and was about to step out of it as he looked back at her, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't cry," even though he told her to stop crying, it was clear he was crying too even though he was trying to hide it with his bangs, "I'm going on a mission for two weeks with Erza. I was going to tell you tonight. The money is enough to pay for this place for two months." He smiled faintly at her. "I love you Lucy, I'll be back. I promise. I love you more than anything."

With that, he was gone and she collapsed to the floor in a messy blob of tears as it felt like her world was crashing down all around her. What did it mean that he needed time to think? She knew the answer, she even understood why he needed time, but it still killed her inside to hear it out loud. She had always known this would be hard, that his hurt feelings would come back into the picture eventually. It couldn't be avoided, at least, not if they wanted even a remote chance at a happy future.

~ 1 week later ~

She could hardly stand being apart from Natsu for so long. Her heart ached every day. Gray and her were just leaving the doctor. She was eight months pregnant now and they were on their way to go baby shopping. It simply couldn't be put off anymore. He looked at her with knowing eyes as they were searching through items at the baby store. They had decided to let the gender of the babies be a surprise. So they weren't trying to buy anything too gendered. But, they were grabbing a few outfits of clothes for either a girl or boy. Lucy just couldn't resist the adorable little clothes. She was staring at an adorable carved wooden crib. It was perfect. Her hand rested on the railing of it as she became lost in thought. She felt a presence beside her and looked up to see Gray.

"It's perfect." He said, reading her thoughts. As they tallied everything up she suddenly felt confident that they actually had everything they needed. The delivery people helped to cart everything to her house and then, all of a sudden, it was just Gray and her standing in the babies' room putting together the cribs, and diaper table, and dresser, and toy chest, and rocking chair… It was Gray sitting there putting together their lives. Her heart yearned for Natsu, but yet she was still oddly happy to see the father of her babies putting together all of the baby furniture. It put a strange kind of yearning in her heart that she simply didn't understand. She sat down beside him to help a bit and as the hours got later and the sun went down their casual and lighthearted discussion turned much more serious and heartfelt.

"What's going on with you and Natsu?" Gray was fiddling with a baby blanket as he helped her fold the clothes and blankets they bought.

She sighed. "He said he loves me, that he will be back, but he needs time to think. This is, hard on him."

"Yea, I know…" Gray's voice trailed off, lost in a memory.

"How about you and Juvia?" Her voice was gentle, prodding. He winced a little.

"She keeps pushing but I know she hurts. She won't say it though. She is all support right now. I just feel so guilty." He looked over at her and nervously down at her belly. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand, placing it on her belly.

"You're allowed to feel them you know."

"I know…" He whispered. "It just, it feels like I'm betraying Juvia, somehow…" His voice trailed off but he didn't remove his hand from her belly. She liked how it felt. Their little family together like that. She felt a little broken and a whole lot confused by the warmth that emanated from his hand. "I can still hardly believe there are two babies in there…"

"I know." She smiled at him, a bit nervous and she wasn't sure why. They hadn't been alone like this in months, with the reality of the babies pressing in on them by her belly and the very room they were siting in it was hard to ignore the reality of the situation.

"I never meant for this Lucy. I never meant to hurt Natsu, or Juvia, or…" He looked at her and she felt his fingers rub gently against her stomach. "You."

"I know, me too."

They sat their in silence, simply enjoying each others presence for a moment before he broke the quiet.

"Lucy, have you ever thought about the train?"

"Hm?" She looked at him quizzically.

He smirked a little and moved his hand away from her belly and looked at her seriously. "When we were on our way back to Magnolia, the train, when we… When we cuddled and almost kissed."

Her cheeks blushed and she looked away. She had tried to block that memory from her mind. She felt almost more guilty about that train ride than she did about how the babies got in her stomach to begin with. It all came down to one important detail, if anything had happened, she wouldn't be able to honestly tell Natsu that there was nothing there. She wanted Natsu, only Natsu. Yet, with Gray's babies floating around in her belly she couldn't help but feel this odd draw to him in this moment. In this moment when they were alone, her heart was hurt, and they were surrounded by the beginning of their babies' lives.

"I try not to."

"Me too."

She coughed, gently trying to change the subject. "Are you ever going to tell Juvia you love her?"

He blushed but didn't turn away. "I can't, not yet. It wouldn't be… honest."

She tilted her head to the side, confused. "What do you mean, honest?"

His hand reached out and lightly grabbed hers. She was so confused. He looked confused. Yet, his hand felt nice and strange. "I mean, ugh, Lucy I don't know how to say this but…"

He didn't get the chance to finish. She instantly keeled over and her eyes bugged out as a pain in her stomach felt like it ripped through her. Gray shot up instantly, hovering around her desperately asking if she was ok. The doctor had said she was fine, that she was healthy, but this didn't feel right. It didn't feel like the pains from many months before. Tears seeped out of her eyes and a vice grip on Gray's hand begged him to take her to the hospital. Within moments he had picked her up, her giant belly and all, and he was running out of the house carrying her to the hospital.

It felt like ages before they reached the hospital, but she knew that Gray had run all the way there at top speed. She was in agonizing pain, tears streaming out of her eyes, and all she wanted was Natsu to be there holding her hands. She felt so desperate, so terrified, there were no words to truly describe it. But, Natsu wasn't there and as she laid on the hospital bed, scared out of her mind, she reached for the only other person that was even remotely as scared as she was. Her hand gripped Gray's so tight she thought she would break it but he didn't complain. He sat there, eyes wide, staring at her stomach. They both sat in tense silence as they awaited their fates.

"Gray, what…" her voice broke and she sobbed out the rest of the words, "what if they are not ok?"

Suddenly Gray was on the bed, her head dug into his chest. She could feel him shaking. His hand rubbed her back lightly, trying to be reassuring. "They will be fine…" She felt something wet drip onto the back of her neck where his head rested. "They have to be fine…" His voice caught on the end of the sentence and she clenched her hands into his shirt. In that moment nothing else mattered, only the babies and their fear of loosing them. They were the only ones who could really understand the utter desperation and terror that they were feeling. They could understand each other, in that moment, in that space.

A small knock on the door caught their attention and they only slightly separated from each other. Hands still tightly grasped together as they sat beside each other on the bed. The doctor walked up to them and with a straight-forward voice gave them the news.

"They're ok…"

Lucy let out an audible sigh.

"But, you need to be extremely careful from now on. Bed rest until its time for the babies to come. I don't want them to wind up in danger, one is already smaller than the other… You need to be strict about this."

Lucy nodded through her tears and Gray stood up to take a pamphlet from the doctor. The doctor paused on the way out and looked at them.

"I'm glad to see a couple who cares so much about each other." With that, he walked out.

Lucy and Gray sat there in silence for a moment, this wasn't their usual doctor and it threw them off that he had thought they were a couple. With a small cough Gray sat down on the chair next to the bed, he pulled it up so it would be even closer to her and still, he did not let go of her hand. They both looked at each other, relief plastered on their faces.

"Bed rest, its just, bed rest…" Lucy sighed and Gray squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"All of you will be ok…" Gray smirked up at her before nervously reaching his other hand up to grab her one hand with both of his. "Lucy, we haven't done this yet, but do you want to talk about baby names?" His gentle, begging, smile immediately had her saying yes as they tossed baby names back and forth with each other. For a moment she was able to forget about how sad she felt about Natsu, for a moment she could forget the fear from only a few minutes before and concentrate on the happiness of the names of their babies. After an hour they had finally settled on four possible names: two boy names - Daichi and Kaito; two girl names - Emi and Hana.

It was so late by this point, nearly midnight. The doctors wanted her to stay overnight just to be safe. Gray hadn't moved from her side. She hadn't even noticed that he hadn't let go of her hand. She was laying there, her eyes closed, nearly asleep, when she felt it. His hand came up and brushed a stray hair out of her face. It felt nice, comforting even, but a touch a worry began to invade her. Then, she felt it. He had leaned down and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. It was obvious that he thought she was asleep because when her eyes began to open his flew wide in shock and embarrassment. The whole room was frozen for a brief moment, as they were both unaware of the newest occupant.

"What the…" Natsu's voice was loud and confused. Lucy's head snapped in his direction and her smile from seeing him disappeared in an instant at the emotions evident on his face. Hurt, confusion, betrayal, anger… So much anger. His hands were in flaming fists and Gray shot up, tearing his hand away from hers and stared Natsu straight in the eyes. Lucy sat up slowly, her hand placed tenderly on her stomach. Natsu's eyes flashed over to her, looking worried, his anger dissipating for a moment. "Are you ok, Lucy?"

She nodded and tried to smile her best reassuring smile up at him. "Yea, it was a scare, I'm on bed rest until the babies are born." He just looked at her for a moment more before fiery eyes met ice and him and Gray were in a deathly stare off.

"What were you doing with Lucy?" His voice was demanding. He was about to snap and Lucy could tell.

"You're back early Natsu." Natsu just stared at him and Gray stiffened up a bit more. "You saw what I did, you know what I was doing."

"Why did you do it?"

"Please calm down you two…" Lucy silently begged, her voice pleading but they ignored her.

"I'm not sure."

"That's a lie." The fire was nearly gushing out of Natsu's mouth now, the room was heating up with his anger.

"Fine, Natsu. What? Do you want me to say I might like her? That I might have some small feelings for the mother of my children?"

Lucy could tell that Natsu was about to jump him and she yelled, "Stop!" They both turned to look at her, stunned. "Please, stop. I can't take this right now. Please, just sit and talk." They both looked at her and the worn out condition she was in and seemed to come to some silent agreement as Gray went to sit in the chair that was now a bit farther from her and Natsu plopped himself up by her, his arm slung protectively around her shoulders. Lucy sighed and looked at Gray. "Gray you don't like me, you love Juvia." She said it as a fact, because to her, it was.

"Yes, I love Juvia."

"So then why did you kiss my girlfriend?" Natsu's voice was harsh.

Gray gave him an icy look before continuing. "I also like Lucy. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's just because she is carrying my babies, or maybe it just became obvious when I rushed her, screaming and in pain, to the hospital as we were both terrified for the lives of our children!" By the end he was nearly shouting, his arms thrown up in exasperation and a tad of that desperation and fear from earlier seeped back into his voice. "Natsu you do not understand the utter… fear… that we both experienced."

Lucy could feel Natsu's arm tighten around her, his hand grabbing her arm protectively. "I may not be able to really understand, but I love those babies too!" His voice was full of emotion and Lucy couldn't help but lean into him.

"You don't like me Gray…" Lucy said, completely sure in what she was just about to say. "You're only feeling these things because I am carrying your babies. Of course we're close, and after picking out all the baby stuff…" Natsu's arm tightened even a bit more around her, he didn't know about the baby shopping yet, "… and the scare tonight, of course your feelings are confused. Everyone knows that you love Juvia. Even you know it. If I wasn't carrying your babies, honestly Gray, do you think you would have ever thought about me that way?"

The room was silent as Gray debated and Natsu fumed. "No. But, the fact is you are carrying my babies and I do feel something, even if that is the only reason. Plus, even if you weren't, that time on the train when we didn't know if…" His voice trailed off as he caught the death glare from a frozen Natsu.

"What do you mean that time on the train?"

Lucy froze. She didn't want to admit the weird mix of feelings that had come over her at that time, that she had rubbed up against Gray to snuggle, that they had cuddled, and it had made them both, ever-so-slightly, want to repeat the act that made her pregnant in the first place. That a small part of her had wanted to kiss him… Suddenly, she was terrified. Terrified at really loosing Natsu when he knew the truth. He withdrew his arm from around her and stood up, backing away a bit.

"After our job, on the way back we took a train so we could get back faster. We were scared and nervous. We didn't know if I was pregnant yet… I felt so, scared, and I… I…"

"You what?" His voice snapped.

"I cuddled him…" She saw Natsu visibly wince. She didn't have the vague defense of the Love Room's influence this time. This was all on her and Gray. She steeled herself to be completely honest. "His body, reacted…" Now Natsu looked like someone had destroyed him, more so than she had ever seen before. "We were both confused and we almost…"

"Almost kissed." Gray finished when she couldn't go any further.

"But we didn't, we didn't like each other that way Natsu. Never again did anything like that happen. Never." Her voice was desperate and her heart ached so deep. She felt like she had just stabbed him in the back.

The night had gone all wrong. Everything was a disaster. Natsu had come back and the way he was acting originally, how protective he was, made her think that his time away had let him really come to terms with the situation. But, now, with this new and disturbing information, information she had hoped he would never learn, she felt like his decision would immediately reverse and that she would forever loose him and that's the one thing that she could not handle.

Natsu just stared at them. The room was beyond tense. Nothing more was said and he stormed out of the room.


	14. Chapter 14

~ 3 days later ~

Lucy had been home for two days now… and it was agonizing. She was stuck in her bed, or on the couch, only moving between the two once a day. Besides her trip to the bathroom, that was about as much excitement as she got during the day. At least it let her read and do some writing. Levy or Erza was constantly there with her, they were careful not to let her be alone with Gray. She had asked how Natsu was and Erza had just smiled sadly at her and never answered. Levy would turn away, refusing to even acknowledge the question. Lucy knew, if her friends were acting like that, the situation really was bad. She knew she had hurt him, that she had possibly even destroyed some part of him, but she desperately hoped that he would move past it, accept it, and be a part of their family.

But what she wanted, more than anything, was to see him.

It was the middle of the night, around 11 p.m., and she was laying awake in her bed. She couldn't sleep as thoughts of Natsu and the hospital invaded her mind, not allowing her the rest she needed. It was then that she heard the window slide open and she looked over, only slightly surprised, to find Natsu climbing through it. She couldn't help but smile at him and hold out her arms, but he didn't smile back and instead of joining her on the bed he went and stood by the foot of it, quiet and stoic.

"I don't know why I'm here." His hair was covering his eyes but his voice was soft. Lucy didn't say anything, but patted the bed beside her. He looked up, barely glancing at her before ever-so-slowly moving to sit down on the spot beside her, his back to her. "I knew there was something going on…" He muttered, under his breath. She wanted to protest, but it wasn't right. It wasn't her time to butt in. He turned slightly so he was now facing her on the bed, his eyes searching her face. "There was no magic room on the train, Lucy."

Lucy winced and nodded. "I know."

"Then why?" His voice caught in his throat, his hurt clearly evident.

She smiled sadly up at him. "Truth?" He nodded. "I'm not sure. I never wanted to do what we did together, not with him at least. But, after it happened. It was simply comforting to be that close to someone who understood how freaked out I was. This is hard to say…"

"Say it." He grunted before once again hiding his eyes with his hair.

She sighed, hating herself for the words she was about to say. "I didn't know you even liked me back then, I thought… I thought you didn't care. While I knew I liked you it just felt, good, to be next to someone who, at the time, was liking it too. I enjoyed it. I can't say that what happened with Gray and I in the Love Room was unenjoyable. I can't say I hate it. I hate that it happened, but I can't say that in the moment I hated how it felt. The train, is kind of the same thing. I hate myself for it, yet I didn't hate how it felt. It's easy to cross the line between friends and more because you are so close with that person. Even though there was no romance, we were so close from being friends that after the Love Room I just, ugh, I couldn't pretend that nothing happened. I know I'm not explaining this right, and I know I'm probably hurting you even more…" HIs eyes were still shielded from her view. She reached out a hand to place it on top of his but he gently pulled his away from her grasp. "I won't lie to you Natsu. Yes, I am now close with, and forever linked to Gray. I can't pretend that we didn't sleep together and that it didn't change the dynamic between us, because it did. I can't pretend that we now wont forever share a bond that is unique and will always mean there could be some sort of weird feelings between us. He is the father of my children, and I am the mother of his." Natsu visibly flinched and she steadied herself to finish what she was saying. "But, I can promise you this. No matter what feelings happen between me and Gray, it will only be due to the fact that we have this odd relationship that will bind us for the rest of our lives. I know one thing, I will never love him. I love you, and only you. He is the father of my children, and he will hold a special place in my heart… But, Natsu, you hold the largest part. You hold all of me. I am not me without you. You are the love of my life and I know that I want to spend my life with you. All you need to ask yourself is, can you accept this? Can you accept that Gray and I will always be in each others lives and that we will share something that can't be broken? Can you accept that I love you and want to be with you, not him. These babies are coming Natsu, and I desperately need to know if you are here for us, if you are in."

She stopped, trying to be as patient as possible as the brooding man sat beside her. It took several minutes, but eventually he reached his hand out and grabbed hers. He lifted his head so she could see his face. He looked sad. He still looked broken and she couldn't read what his decision was. The he turned and climbed onto the bed, pulling her up against him as best he could with her gigantic stomach. Her head was nuzzled under his arm, on top of his chest, his arm wrapped lovingly around her. His other hand was holding hers, his thumb lightly rubbing against hers. She felt him move his head and breath in the scent of her hair before he placed a long, lingering, kiss on top of her head. She leaned deeper into his comforting embrace.

"Oh Lucy, I missed you." His grip on her tightened as he kissed her head again. He was slightly shaking and she could feel the emotion that he was holding trapped inside. "I missed you so much." She leaned her head ever so slightly, and brung his hand up to her lips to place a gentle, loving, kiss upon it, and just like that he broke down. She could feel him crying into her and his grip on her intensified. She just held him and held back her own tears. It wasn't her turn to cry, it was his. He needed to let it all out. All the hurt she had caused him. They stayed like that for a long time, his tears eventually fading away as he continued to hold her. She let go of his hand and wrapped it around his waist as he brought his now free hand up to run through her hair, his other hand still firmly holding onto Lucy, as if locking her in place.

"I love you Natsu…" She whispered against his skin. As usual, his shirt was open in the front and she could feel his warm skin beneath her. She kissed his chest and snuggled in deeper, so happy simply being back in his embrace.

"I love you too, Lucy." He stopped playing with her hair and grabbed her hand again. "I love those babies too. I can't help it. How couldn't I love them when I love their mother this much?" She could feel him smirk before he went solemn again. "But…" She held her breath, nervously awaiting his next words. "What happened isn't ok. I know we weren't together yet… But, I need to think. Can I come back, be around like I used to?" She found herself eagerly nodding into his chest, making him slightly laugh. "I can't promise anything Lucy. This isn't the future I had imagined. I tried to ignore the realities for so long, the reality of the future, and especially the reality of what happened between you and Gray. I have to change my dream, and that may take time. So, please, Lucy, give me time."

She looked anxiously down at her stomach, they really didn't have that much time before the babies would be here. Still, she couldn't deny his request, especially if it meant he might not leave her. "Of course Natsu, I couldn't… I simply couldn't handle it if you left me." She felt her grip on him tighten and she shook slightly before he leaned down and placed another kiss on her forehead.

"Shh, Lucy. It's ok. Just get some rest now ok? I'll stay here the rest of the night." With those words, and his arms surrounding her, Lucy managed to fall into a restful sleep.

When she woke up, for one terrifying instant she thought he was gone, before she realized she could still feel his skin pressed against hers. She was laying on her side now, which was, surprisingly, only slightly uncomfortable. He was pressed up tight behind her, arms wrapped around her, and his breath was tickling her ear. He was still asleep. She sighed and scooted a bit on the bed, adjusting the position of her belly and inadvertently rubbing against his groin. She froze for a minute, hoping she didn't wake him. When he didn't wake she had the sudden urge to do it again. Slowly, carefully, she rubbed gently against him ad she felt his muscles tense around her, but he still didn't wake. She did it again, and then she could feel it. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes for one blissful moment. Oh, how she wanted to be with him. Even when her stomach was small, they hadn't done anything. They would kiss and hold each other tight, but never, never, did they do anything. She couldn't blame him for that though, with her ever expanding stomach with children that were not his, it probably made him not too eager to go that far with her yet. She rubbed against him one more time, secretly relishing the feeling of her naughty moment. She couldn't believe she had let herself indulge her little fantasy.

That's when she heard a little growl and felt his hips grind back against her. "Just what do you think you're doing, huh, Lucy?" His voice was gruff and deep, sexy in the most profound way. He leaned in and nibbled her neck, making her accidentally let loose a moan. "I see… were you trying to see if my body would react to you?" He ground against her again, he was fully aroused now and it was very clear to her with how tight he was pressed up against her. She was both exhilarated and nervous for what he would say and do next. His breath was hot against her ear as he nibbled it gently, sending her into hyperdrive.

"Natsu…" She couldn't help but moan and with that she felt him grind even harder against her before he abruptly pulled himself away. He was siting on the edge of the bed, not looking at her, and panting hard.

"Lucy, we can't… We can't do that."

She sat up slightly, supporting her back with a pillow and leaned her face against his back, wrapping one arm around his waist, letting her hand hang dangerously low. He quickly reached his hand down and grabbed hers, making sure it didn't fall any further.

"We are not married, we can't… We can't do that. "

Her breath caught in her throat. That was his hold up? It wasn't her giant pregnant stomach? She tightened her grip around him and nodded against his back.

"It's not that I… Just with you, Lucy, you're special. If we ever did that, we would, I feel like we would need to be married."

She instantly pushed off, as best she could, the idea of Natsu being with another girl. She knew she didn't have the right to care, especially when she had been with other people. Still, it was unpleasant to think about.

"I'm going to go get us some breakfast, ok?" He turned to look at her, smiling brightly as the flushed color in his face ever so slowly dissipated. She nodded and with that he headed downstairs.

It was over a half hour later and she was starting to get worried. She hadn't heard a thing from Natsu. She looked down at her giant belly and took a hesitant breath before slowly getting out of bed. She had to go to the bathroom anyway so she thought that if she was careful and moved slowly it would be ok to get up. As soon as she was in the hallway she saw the opened door to the babies' room and so she walked over and poked her head in. Natsu was standing there, just staring at the room and everything inside it. He was carrying a tray of scrambled eggs, that were probably almost cold, and orange juice. She walked up behind him and leaned her head on his shoulder, making him slightly jump.

"You should be in bed." He said, still looking at the room and not at her.

"I know." She said but neither of them moved. A few minutes later Natsu turned to her with a small smile and ushered her back into her bedroom, promptly placing the tray of food proudly on her lap.

"I made you some eggs…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "… but, they might be cold by now."

She dug in eagerly, making sure to let him know she was enjoying it even though it was slightly cold. When she was finished she looked up at him, he had a slightly eager expression so she smiled big and reached out a hand to pull him closer to her. They were side by side sitting up in the bed, and she leaned her head so it was resting on his strong shoulder. Even just that little touch, the feel of his skin against hers, sent tingles down her spine and made her feel so safe. She simply loved him so much, she couldn't fathom a life without him. She reached one hand over and held his.

"Do you like the babies' room?" She leaned a bit more against him, pressing her lips to the base of his neck before putting her head back where it was. She heard him breathe in deeply from the kiss before he spoke.

"It's very nice… I… I can see them in there. Even when they are bigger, even though I think it might get a bit cramped."

Lucy smiled, imagining the babies when they were older. She couldn't help but picture Natsu there too, and it made her once again wonder what he had decided. Would he stay with them? Would stay with her?

"This is really happening…" He sighed and sunk a bit more into the bed, resting his head on top of hers. "There isn't much time left, huh?" He placed his other hand on her giant belly, feeling the immediate kicking response from the babies.

She giggled. "They like you."

He left his hand there, rubbing his fingers gently over her stomach. "I was so scared Lucy, when I found out you were in the hospital… I was, terrified. I thought you and the babies…" He coughed slightly, unable to finish his sentence. "But, then I got there and he was kissing your forehead." The hand holding hers tightened protectively. "I couldn't hold back my anger… Then, when you told me about the train… It just all was, so much, ya know?"

She nodded her head slightly and squeezed his hand a little tighter, treasuring the feeling of her hand in his. "I know… I feel terrible about it Natsu."

He sighed and turned to kiss her forehead before once again resting his head on top of hers. "I know."

They simply laid like that. They didn't worry about the time, even though the ever present size of her belly was a constant reminder that they couldn't be like this for much longer. Soon, the babies would be here and he would have to make up his mind about truly being in their lives. It was unspoken, but Lucy knew that Natsu understood that he had to decide before they were born and that if he didn't want to be in there lives, he would have to leave them be. She wasn't going to confuse the babies with anything like that. There was no 50/50, it was either all in, or completely out. She couldn't even handle the thought of not having him be a part of their lives, of having to let go of him. She knew she would never stop loving him, no matter how much time apart, but if he said no she also knew she would have to somehow find the strength to carry on because there would be two new little ones that would need her. The babies needed her, and whether Natsu realized it yet or not, they needed him too.

They had almost fallen asleep like that when they heard a knock on the door before someone entered. Natsu stiffened for a moment until they heard Juvia's voice. She came upstairs and was standing, nervously, at the foot of the bed. Her hands were twisting together and she was doing her best not to make eye contact. Lucy sat up a bit more and patiently waited for the water woman to speak.

Juvia seemed to steady her nerves before she began. "Gray… Gray told me about the train…"

"Oh…" Was all Lucy could mutter. It was soft, almost unheard. Natsu tightened up beside her and she hated that this topic was once again making an appearance. But, still, Juvia had every right to calm and talk to her. They really hadn't talked enough. If everything was going to go as Lucy hoped, Juvia would marry Gray and thus forever be a big part of the babies' lives. They needed to talk more, they needed to be on good terms.

"… and I don't care." Juvia said with determination. Her nerves were seemingly gone now as she looked, almost defiantly, at Lucy. "I love Gray, and I will not desert him. I know… I know that he might like you." For a second Juvia's face seemed to scrunch up and Lucy could have sworn she heard her mutter 'Love Rival' under her breath. "… and I know that is because you are having his kids. I know you don't like him Lucy…" She looked at Natsu knowingly, she was well aware that Lucy and Natsu were destined to be together as long as they didn't let this break them apart. "I will stay by Gray's side forever. I will be in those babies lives…" Her determination seemed to falter as she once again looked away. "If… if that's ok with you Lucy."

Lucy smiled and ushered her over. She grabbed Juvia's hand and put it on her stomach, where Natsu's hand was still resting. Juvia's eyes opened wide and she stared at Lucy's belly, entranced.

"Those are… Gray's babies… I can feel them moving." She placed her other hand on Lucy's belly and seemed rooted to the spot. Lucy looked at both of them, their hands on her belly, and fell even more in love with her misshapen family.

"We are a family…" She said, her eyes flashing to Natsu, hoping that statement was really true. "We are not perfect, and I am sure we are going to have a lot of troubles ahead. But, no matter what, we are here for each other. It will be hard, I know it may hurt you two…" She could feel both of them slightly tighten their fingers against her belly when she said that. "… and I hate that. But, we are where we are and I just hope we can all love these babies and truly be a family."

Juvia reluctantly removed her hands from Lucy's stomach and nodded at her. "Yes, a family, I think we can do that. At least, that's what I want to be." She looked off into the distance, as if in a daze.

"Has Gray told you yet?" Natsu asked, his voice soft.

"Hm? Told me what?" Juvia looked perplexed.

"Guess not, coward." Natsu spurted before laughing slightly.

"Don't call Gray a coward!" Juvia's hands were on her hips, her stare playful yet deadly.

Natsu laughed. "Fine, fine, but he is."

It wasn't much later before Juvia left. Her visit was brief but it truly helped Lucy to relax. At least her and Juvia were on good terms, at least Juvia wanted to be a family. She knew that Juvia would support Gray and love the babies with all her heart. After all, when Juvia cared for something, she gave it her entire heart and all her will. She would make it work, no matter how difficult it was, and Lucy knew that. So, now the only one remaining was Natsu. Lucy's heart ached thinking about it so she promptly changed her train of thought. Natsu went and made them lunch, bringing it back to the room for her when she decided she would tell him.

"So, Gray and I decided on potential baby names." She saw him freeze, but only for a minute, before he continued settling in beside her and beginning to eat.

"Yea? What are they?"

Lucy smiled. His voice was grub but it wasn't angry. "They are Daichi, Kaito, Emi, and Hana."

He took a minute to think about it, and she could tell that he was truly considering the names placed before him. "I like Daichi." That was all he said before he continued to eat, but it was enough. It made her skin tingle and her heart felt light. If he was willing to comment on the names, then he must at least be slightly considering being in the babies lives. It was a few minutes later before he spoke again. "… and I like Emi. Daichi and Emi, if it's a boy and girl." He turned to look at her, a genuine smile on his face. She couldn't help but smile and wrap her arms around him, pulling him in for a deep kiss before letting him go. By the time she let him go both of their cheeks were flushed and they were ever so slightly out of breath. She looked up at him eagerly, only just managing to work up the courage to ask what she wanted.

"Natsu, have you decided?" Her face clearly showed her excitement and what her expectation was, and the look of it and the eagerness that exuded off of her seemed to make him pause. He turned his face away from her and started to eat again, silently letting her know that he had not made up his mind. Still, after several minutes, he voiced it as well.

"I need more time." She felt like her heart had dropped out of her chest. With a shaky breath and a mumbled 'ok' she continued to eat, the once happy atmosphere dampened by her question and his answer. In the back of her mind she was beating herself up for asking, knowing that she shouldn't have pushed it yet. But, she just couldn't resist the urge in that moment because she had thought that maybe, just maybe, he had made up his mind. They finished eating in an awkward silence and when he left the room with their plates she couldn't help but let a few tears slide down her cheeks.

~Author's Note~

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying the story. BIG THINGS will be happening in the next chapter (I'm not saying if they are good or bad, but know that it could go either way!). Thank you so much for your reviews. Please review this chapter as well, it really encourages me to write fast because I feel bad making you wait for the next chapter! A few questions:

What do you think the babies will be? Boy/Boy, Girl/Girl, Boy/Girl?

Do you think everyone will come through it (survive)?

How do you think Natsu will react when she goes into Labor? What about Gray?

Let me know your thoughts on this chapter and these questions! I love hearing them.

Please review!

~ FeudalAi


	15. Chapter 15

~ A little over two weeks later, about eight months and one week pregnant ~

Lucy's giant stomach was now, officially, causing her problems. She could not get comfortable at night. No position, even with Natsu, was comfortable. She would constantly wake up needing to adjust her position so she wasn't in so much pain or simply because she, once again, needed to pee. Her ankles were swollen and Natsu, so amazingly, had taken to rubbing them for her at night. He was taking such good care of her, and she knew she was being a bit of a pain. As the pregnancy carried on, she was becoming more and more irritable because of the pain in her back and the impossibility of walking around. Her walk twice a day from her bed to the couch downstairs was her only reprieve. The more she looked at her stomach, and the closer her due date came, the more impatient she became to meet the little ones growing inside her. Right now, she was sitting on the couch, trying her best to get comfortable but it simply wasn't going to happen. She had an open book resting on her stomach, using it as a sort of table, but she wasn't actually paying attention to the words. Instead, she was keeping a careful eye on Natsu and Gray.

Things had been — tense — to say the least.

Ever since their first encounter after the hospital ordeal they would just stand there, barely saying a word to each other, both stiff as boards. She knew they were trying not to fight, especially around her, because they didn't want to upset her in her current state. Still, seeing them both as still as rocks was possibly even more upsetting. It made the atmosphere in the room tense. Natsu was sitting by her feet, holding them and slightly rubbing the bottom of her sore feet with his fingers as Gray sat in a chair across the room awkwardly watching them. Gray was trying to be around more now, not because of Lucy, but because the due date for the babies was getting even closer and they still had to work some stuff out. Finally, after an hour and a half of awkward quiet, the discussion finally began and she had no idea how it would turn out.

"How often do I get to see the babies?" Gray looked at her now, trying to ignore Natsu which only made Natsu's fingers tighten ever so slightly around her feet.

"Well, they need to be with me the whole time for probably, I'd say…" She looked at his nervous expression and tried to give him a warm smile. This was a hard topic for her. She loved the babies so much already and it felt like an impossibility to let them be without her even for just a night. But, she reminded herself, he was their father and he had the right to see them. "… for the first three months and then, after that, maybe twice a week at your house? We can split the time better as they get older." She had put a lot of thought into this, balancing what the babies needed with her and Gray's desires. He sat their for a few moments before replying, his shirt off as was normal for him (yet it irritated Natsu to no end) and his arms crossed against his bare chest.

"Three months… I understand it, but that's a long time. I want to bond with them too." Lucy sat there for a minute. Natsu's hands were not moving on her feet anymore and she shot him a worried glance. "I'm their father Lucy, it's unfair if he…" Gray shot a knowing look at Natsu. Even though Natsu hadn't decided yet, it was clear what decision Gray thought he would come to. "… gets to see them everyday after they are born and I hardly do."

She gasped slightly. She could see the worry on his face. This clearly bothered him, a lot. She knew what she had to say and she also knew it might push Natsu farther away from her. She looked at Natsu and he squeezed her feet lightly, reassuringly. She breathed in deep, wishing that Natsu had at least an inkling of what she was about to tell Gray so that he could be prepared, so that that light reassuring squeeze was in support of what she was about to say and not simply to comfort her. She steadied herself and turned to face Gray, not allowing herself to look at Natsu as she said what she knew had to be said, regardless of if it would push Natsu away or not.

"You should stay here."

It felt like everything froze in that instant. An icy atmosphere pervaded the room and the only one exempt from it was Gray. His whole face had lit up with glee.

"You can stay in the other bedroom and be here for a while, bond with the babies… I've read that skin to skin contact really helps with the babies connecting to the father… So, you should stay here. Like you said, it is unfair for you to miss out on all those beginning things and I don't want you to miss out on their lives…" Her voice faltered a bit at the end as she finally allowed herself to nervously glance at Natsu. He wasn't saying anything, he was just sitting there silent and still, her feet long forgotten. She noticed Gray look at him too, a concerned look on his face.

"Natsu?" As soon as Gray spoke Natsu's head shot in his direction, his face unreadable. "I know…" Gray coughed slightly and cleared his throat, it was clear that he was a little uncomfortable. "I know me staying here might be hard on you… But, please understand… Please consider me too, not just Lucy and yourself. I want to get to know my children. Do you understand?" He was trying to be confident, yet it almost sounded like he was pleading with Natsu.

Natsu sat still for a moment before he once again began to rub her feet. "I understand, you should stay here Gray."

Lucy couldn't believe what she had just heard. Natsu was ok with it? She couldn't stop her smile as she reached over, grabbed his hand, and kissed it, making him blush before he returned it to her feet. Gray was in shock too, but he just sat there utterly quiet, not letting onto what he was feeling inside.

"So, that's one thing taken care of." Lucy muttered with a satisfied pat on her enlarged belly. "Almost time for you little ones to meet us now, three more weeks! Then, we'll be a family." Lucy had a giant smile on her face that only faltered slightly when she heard Natsu.

"A family…" He had sad it under his breath, she doubted Gray heard, but she had. It was so unclear, what his feelings were in that moment. They way he said it, it could be interpreted either way. All she knew was that she was getting sick of it, sick of this, sick of waiting for him to make up his mind. By now, he should now if he wanted to be in their lives. Finally, with one more ache in her back that simply pushed her over the edge, she couldn't help but confront him. She didn't care that Gray was there, in that moment, she was simply angry and fed up. She pulled her feet from him and sat up straight on the couch.

"What is it Natsu?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her adorably, almost taming her anger. "What is what Lucy?"

"What is your decision?" Natsu's eyes grew wide and that was when she felt it, something she should not be feeling yet. A pain, not completely terrible yet but big enough to let itself be known, ripped through her. She tried not to let her panic show. There was still supposed to be three weeks before they were born! But, she knew in the bottom of her heart, her labor had begun. Her water hadn't broke yet though, so she figured she had a little time to sort this out before going to the hospital. "I'm tired of waiting, we don't have much more time!" She tried her best not to let her pain and discomfort show in her voice. "What is it? I want the answer now or never Natsu. I'm done playing this waiting game."

"Come on Natsu…" Gray chimed in, standing up. "You have known the answer for a long time now. You know you can't live without her! I know the situation is not ideal…" He quickly glanced at her stomach. "But, you still know the truth and all you're doing is putting you both in agony by waiting to admit it." He looked at her one more time before grabbing his shirt and sliding it on. "I'll leave you two so you can discuss it." He shot Natsu an icy glare before he started to walk out. She knew, though, that she couldn't let him leave so she stood up as fast as she could with her giant belly and managed to grab him by the wrist and pull a surprised Gray back towards her.

"Stay, Gray…" She thought quickly for a moment for an excuse. "… You should hear his decision too." Gray nodded slightly but looked at her slightly worried. "So, what is it Natsu?"

He seemed to steady himself and took a step forward, grabbing both of her hands in his. He shot a look at Gray, clearly wishing he wasn't there, but begrudgingly putting up with the situation. His eyes fixed on hers and in that instant she could read all of the emotions swirling inside of him. Pain, frustration, longing, but most of all, love. It was so clear, so obviously visible, it simply exuded off of him. She took a shaky breath in as another pain overcame her. It was bearable, but only barely.

"I love you Lucy…"

Her breathing became a bit more unsteady, if from the pain or her nerves she couldn't tell.

"I want to be a family…"

Just then, with a small groan, her water broke.

Both of them just stared at her, in silent frozen shock. She was in labor. It was three weeks too soon. But, she was in labor. Since Natsu was standing in front of her she saw his face slowly drop into a panicked looked as his eyes searched hers desperately. She smirked a little at him.

"Guess you made it just in time, huh?"

Just like that, they were off. There wasn't much time for talking as they hurried to the hospital. Gray and Natsu were both worried messes. Natsu let her squeeze his hand as hard as she could when the pains came, and when they weren't happening he rubbed the back of her hand to comfort her. Gray, on the other hand, just kept shooting her worried glances as the full realization of the magnitude at what was happening hit him. Soon, they were at the hospital, she was checked in, and laying on the hospital bed. She was uncomfortable, her back hurt, and her stomach was in pain. A nurse came in letting her know that she was four centimeters dilated and that she still had quite a ways to go. Lucy tried not to frown at her but she simply couldn't imagine several more hours of this kind of pain. Pain that was only getting worse.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Gray asked nervously as he sat beside in a chair by her head. Natsu was on the other side, gently rubbing her shoulders. While part of her wanted to scream for no one to be touching her, the sane part of her loved that he was being so caring in this moment.

"Yea, Gray, there is nothing you can do. This.." She said, pointing at her belly as she fell into another contraction, taking a minute to squeeze the sheets and Natsu's hand with all her might, breathing heavily. "… is apparently natural." She finished once she caught her breath. She smiled the best she could at him. After all, they were all nervous, this was their family she was bringing into this world and it was a terrifying process. So many things could go wrong… She couldn't even let herself think about that. She focused on the good, on Natsu and Gray beside her. "It's going to be a while, you should go get Juvia and let Erza and Levy know what's going on. Could you please go tell everyone? I'm not really up to it right now." She said with a slight sarcastic chuckle.

"I don't know if I should leave Lucy, I mean, what if something happens?" He looked so concerned and she was about to protest when she felt a firm hand placed on her shoulder. She looked back at Natsu and saw determination in his eyes.

"These are Gray's babies Lucy, he should be here." He squeezed her shoulder lightly. "I'll go get Juvia and tell everyone."

She was stunned but Gray jumped into action. "Thank you, Natsu." Natsu nodded at him and headed for the door. "Really, thank you…" Gray trailed off, his worried eyes once again turning to face her.

They sat quiet for a while until one of her contractions began again, and she couldn't help it, she reached for his hand and squeezed it hard. Gray didn't falter or even let on to if she was hurting him or not. His face was a mixture of excitement and concern. He loved those babies too. After the contraction subsided and she was sucking on some ice chips, since they wouldn't let her have any actual food, he spoke again.

"Lucy, we never got the chance to talk about this because, well, they are coming early…" She nodded, nervous for what he might be about to say. "But, who gets to be in the delivery room with you?"

He looked truly worried about this. Instantly, when thinking about giving birth, she pictured Natsu there. But, the look on the face of the man beside her truly made her realize that Natsu, alone, wouldn't be all right. These were Gray's babies and, as awkward as it was, he should be their to see them the moment they were born. She squeezed his hand lightly before taking hers form his grasp.

"I think you and Natsu should both be there… If that's ok with you." She smiled and she could immediately see the way his face lit up.

"Yea… Yea… That sounds good to me."

The next hour went by in a blur. The contractions were ever so slowly coming closer together and all she wanted was Natsu there. Gray was doing everything he could to comfort her, but she only found him annoying. She knew it wasn't his fault, but she just desperately wanted Natsu by her side. He had finally said he wanted this to be his family and all she truly wished she could do was kiss and hold him and never let go. But, that wasn't really an option now. Just as another contraction was hitting her, and her hands dug into the sheets, Natsu walked into the room. He walked over and sat beside her and she instinctively reached out and squeezed his hand hard.

"It felt like…" She panted, a little out of breath. "You were gone forever…"

He smirked up at her and rubbed the back of her hand as her contraction subsided. "I told everyone. Erza and Levy wanted to come but I said they should probably wait until later, but Juvia came. She is in the waiting room." He shot Gray a knowing look. Gray's eyes shot towards the door, and then back at her. He was clearly torn.

"Go. Go be with Juvia for a bit Gray. Our lives are about to change. Plus, I think it will be a while still…" He nodded at her gratefully and sprinted out of the door. Lucy really hoped that he would get his head straight soon. He loved Juvia, not her. Yes, they would forever be attached in some way since she was having his babies… But that was all. Juvia was his future.

As soon as he left Natsu moved and sat on the bed beside her, she leaned his head onto his shoulder and soon she felt him rest his head upon hers. She held his hand now, pulling it up to her lips to give it a soft kiss. "I love you so much Natsu."

"I love you too Lucy. We are a family now."

She couldn't help but smile at his warm words. "A family…"

She was in labor for seven more hours, making a total of nine hours of labor. Nine. Hours. Of. Labor. She felt exhausted and unbelievably excited and nervous all at the same time. She was just about to start pushing. Her legs were up sky high in the stir-ups and Gray and Natsu each bordered one of her shoulders. She was squeezing both of their hands with all of her might. Any past grievances between the two were forgotten in that moment. Between her screams and the nose from the doctor as he gently encouraged her to 'Keep pushing, your almost there', nothing else mattered. All that mattered to the three of them was that the babies were just about to enter this world. With one more mind-blowing painful push, she heard it. A baby's cry.

Her eyes shot open as she searched for the source and that was when she saw it. Gray had moved down there and the doctor was showing him where to cut the cord. The baby was all covered in blood and goo, but it was beautiful. As soon as Gray cut it the nurse whipped the goo off of the baby and laid it on her chest.

"It's a boy." The doctor said with a smile.

She moved her arms and wrapped them around the small bundle just as his cries quieted and his eyes opened. They were dark brown, almost black. She could see baby hair on his head, a barely visible coating which was the lightest of blond. She was frozen within that moment as her baby looked up at her. There were simply no words to describe the immediate bond that overcame her. She almost forgot where she was, she almost forgot what she was doing, until another pain ripped through her. She looked at Gray and, extremely slowly, handed him to Gray.

"Meet your son, Daichi."

Gray had this unbelievable child-like expression of pure joy and unhindered love on his face. He took Daichi into his arms and one of Daichi's little tiny hands found its way to Gray's and wrapped itself around his thumb. As Gray's face broke into a giant smile she saw a happy tear fall down his cheek. "Daichi… My son…"

Another pain ripped through her and she was forced to confront the situation at hand. She turned to look at Natsu for the first time since Daichi was born and she saw a look of shock and awe on his face. She reached over and grabbed his hand, drawing his attention back to her. He smiled reassuringly at her as the doctor once again instructed her to push. She started to push, her voice loud with the effort, before she heard the doctor.

"Stop, stop pushing!"

She did so immediately. "What's wrong?"

She couldn't see the doctor's face but she knew something wasn't right. The once happy atmosphere became tense and filled with fear. Gray bounced Daichi ever so slightly as he saw the baby's face start to get ready to cry again from the sudden change in the room.

"The cord is wrapped around the second one's neck. We need to be very careful about how we proceed. I'm going to try to adjust it a bit…" She could feel his hand as he tried to adjust the baby that was still inside her. "Ok, that's a bit better, we can do this, we just need to be fast. I need you to push now Lucy, push hard."

For a second she couldn't concentrate. Her eyes darted to Daichi before landing on Natsu.

"You can do this Lucy, now PUSH!" His voice was firm, a demand, his eyes steady, and she immediately reacted to his words. She was filled with worry and determination, a sudden protectiveness swept through her and she new she had to do this. She pushed, she was so loud she desperately didn't hope she bothered Daichi, but in that moment all that mattered was the baby that was still inside her that was perilously close to being strangled by its own cord. "One more Lucy, you can do it, push hard. NOW!" Natsu coached her through and she pushed, with every last remaining bit of strength she had.

The baby came out and this time, instead of letting Gray cut the cord, the doctor did it himself and had the nurse take the baby.

"Is everything ok?" Her voice was weak.

"What's wrong?" Natsu and Gray demanded at the same time.

The nurse turned around and finally, after several tense minutes of silence, they heard a baby's cry. Lucy couldn't help it, she started to cry as they placed the baby upon her chest.

"Congratulations, on a healthy baby girl. She is ok, she was in a bit of danger but it's ok now."

Lucy couldn't stop the tears of relief and happiness from falling down her face as she looked at the little baby girl in her arms. "Hello, Emi…" Her voice choked up so instead of speaking she simply ran her fingers lightly over Emi's head just as she opened her eyes. Emi's eyes were an icy blue, so bright, like a winter storm. She had never seen those colored eyes on anyone before. Emi also had a large tuft of jet black hair, it was almost long enough for Lucy to run her fingers through a bit. The doctor and nurse left the room, letting them know that they would be back later. Lucy barely heard them, she was in a trance. She looked up at Gray and saw tears falling down his face too.

"Their perfect, aren't they?"

Gray simply nodded at her before she saw his eyes move to a wonderstruck Natsu. Gray looked down at a sleeping Daichi in his arms and then back at Natsu before speaking again. "Natsu, would you like to hold Daichi?"

Natsu looked shocked, his jaw almost dropped. His words came out in a hurried jumble. "Are, are you sure? I'd love to!" His grin was unstoppable as he, ever-so-slowly, took Daichi into his arms. She could see the slightly concerned look on Gray's face but, still, he was allowing Natsu to hold his son. He had offered. Lucy couldn't have felt any better than she did in that moment.

"He… is so little." Natsu's eyes were wide as he stared down at the baby in his arms. Lucy could tell, he was in love. He loved those babies more than his own life. They were a family, forever.

Gray bent over to look at his daughter and Lucy carefully handed her to him. She felt empty without one of them in her arms, but she cherished the view of seeing both of the men holding one of the babies. A few minutes later there was a gentle knock on the door and they heard Juvia ask if she could come in.

"Of course." Gray said softly.

Juvia opened the door slowly and her face filled with wonder. Her eyes were all for Gray. She could see him holding Emi and it was clear the love he felt for his children. His face was glowing. Gray took a shaky breath, looked down at Emi (who was even tinnier than her brother), before looking determinedly up at Juvia.

"I love you Juvia."

Juvia's face froze. It was like she went into shock from hearing words she never, ever, thought she would actually hear. She had always hoped, but she also knew it could be an extremely unrealistic dream. For a second, Lucy thought Juvia was going to collapse.

"I have always loved you Juvia. Will you, be with me?"

In a second Juvia was across the room and the only thing that stopped her from running head long into Gray was the little baby in his arms. "Yes, Gray, I've waited so long to hear that! Yes, we are a famliy."

Gray's smile grew somehow larger and he handed Emi carefully back to Lucy before he pulled Juvia in for a deep and loving kiss. Lucy smiled at them before turning her attention back to Natsu. He had sat on the edge of the bed, still holding Daichi protectively. He turned to look at her and she couldn't help but feel like her heart might explode from how happy she was in that moment.

"I love them, so much Lucy… I couldn't even imagine…"

"I know." She said and she leaned her head against him. In that moment she could feel just how exhausted she was, but the sight of Daichi and Emi, right by each other, in their arms, gave her all the energy in the world. They were so beautiful and so unique even though they were only just a few minutes old. Her family was here, and she was never, ever, going to let it go.

~ Author's Note ~

Hello everyone! I hope you have been enjoying this story. There will only be one more chapter. I really hope you liked this story. The next chapter will jump forward in time several times, I'm going to make sure you get to see what exactly ends up happening with everyone. If you enjoyed reading this, or have any thoughts, please review!

Thank you so much for reading!

Please Review!

~ FeudalAi


	16. Chapter 16

~ About 3 months old ~

Daichi was wailing again. His cries were sharp to her ears as she gently laid Emi back in her crib and moved over to the little fussy baby boy. As soon as her face appeared over the edge of the crib he seemed to smile and reached his arms up towards her.

"Silly boy…" She muttered before picking him up. Daichi was the fussy one. He always wanted something or someone. He simply loved attention. Emi, on the other hand, was more quiet and reserved. Lucy could tell that Emi's favorite place was laying on Natsu's chest. She looked so at peace and she hardly cried when he was holding her. Of course, she wouldn't tell Gray that.

"He screaming again?" Gray walked into the room and reached out to gently grab one of Daichi's little hands, instantly making the little baby squeal in delight. Lucy smiled and handed him over to Gray. He was such a Daddy's boy. "How's my little man doing, huh?" Gray leaned his forehead against Daichi's, the little boy reached up and tangled his fingers into his Daddy's hair. Gray laughed as he untangled himself. "My little troublemaker…"

The first three months of the babies lives was a hectic time for them. Since the babies came early, Gray hadn't moved into the spare bedroom yet. So, after they were home for about three days (and Gray had been sleeping on the rocking chair that was in the babies' room that whole time) Erza and most of the Guild came to see the babies and move him in. He just had a simple bed and the least amount of clothing possible. After all, he would need to move back. Natsu and him had been handling the situation pretty well, but she thought that might be simply because they were so busy they didn't have much time to think about much else. She couldn't help but miss Natsu though. He still didn't live with her, even though he stayed over most nights. He was also often gone on jobs. After the first two weeks and they were beginning to need an income again he told Gray, more so commanded, that he should stay with that babies. So, instead, Natsu went out on all the jobs he could handle. Lucy could tell that Emi missed him. Whenever he came home, he would first give her a kiss and a hug before sprinting over to the babies and picking little Emi up. She would snuggle right into his chest and look up at him with those big, soulful, ice blue eyes. That little girl had stolen Natsu's heart and it gave Lucy this weird warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was just so happy. Since Gray was living there for now, Juvia was also a staple in the daily rotation of people at her house. She would help with the babies and was always by his side. She was even starting to feel like a sort-of sister to Lucy. There was no way that they weren't going to be bonded in someway after everything that had happened. Over the last month Juvia had been extremely busy; Gray had asked her to marry him.

Lucy was beyond shocked. She knew it would happen eventually, but it took him so long to ask her out in the first place that she thought it would take him nearly as long to work up the nerve to ask her to forever be his. But, she was wrong. He proposed while the two of them were cleaning dirty diapers. It doesn't sound romantic, but the way Juvia tells it makes you sure that it was. Juvia says that Gray told her he wanted to have babies with her, that he wanted to be with her changing the diapers of their babies too, that he could see their children playing with Daichi and Emi. Then, he turned to her, acting completely normal, as she was frozen with delight and surprise, and asked if she would marry him. The wedding was going to be in four months. She had never seen the two of them happier.

Meanwhile, as happy as she was, she was constantly missing Natsu. He was like this empty figure in her life. He was gone so much, and that would remain the same until Gray started going on jobs again. She wanted her family to be whole again, she wanted everyone to be home. Besides missing him, she had another problem. It had been three months and she was starting to feel like she was ready for Gray to leave and go home. He had been there every single day since the babies were born, he had bonded extremely well with the babies and even they had become closer. She made sure to keep an eye on him, to make sure non of his weird emotions were returning for her. But, as far as she could tell, they hadn't. He had apologized profusely to her. He had confused this weird emotional connection they have over having children together with some kind of love. It was clear that now he knew, with the loving help of Juvia, that his feelings for Lucy were nothing romantic. They were just an attachment, a bond, caused from her giving birth to his children. It made them more than friends while at the same time it did not make them romantic. It was confusing, and weird, but they were all figuring their way through the haze.

She heard a nock from downstairs and she immediately hurried downstairs. Walking through the door was non other than Natsu with a giant grin on his face. He walked right up to her and gave her a huge hug before he pulled her in close and lovingly pressed his lips against hers. After a moment, he slowly pulled away but there was a fire in his eyes as he stared at her.

"I missed you Lucy."

Lucy's grin doubled in size. "I missed you too Natsu." She knew he missed her, but it wasn't that often that he said it. He had been gone a bit over a week this time and it had felt like she hadn't seen him in years. "Emi's waiting for you." She smirked at him and his grin grew.

"Better not keep my princess waiting, huh?" He quirked his head to the side, making his pink hair flop over his face. She reached up and pushed it back, loving the feeling of her fingers in his hair.

"Better not." She said before grabbing his hand and walking with him up to the babies' room.

When he walked into the room and saw Gray he paused for a moment before muttering a somewhat tense, "Gray" and nodding his head slightly. Gray nodded slightly back, holding a now sleeping Daichi in his arms. Natsu walked over and picked up Emi, bouncing her slightly making her squeal for more. She looked so much more animated now that Natsu was back. Lucy even secretly thought that she might love Natsu more than her. She tried not to let that bother her, but she had to admit to herself at least that it did bug her a little bit. Still, mostly she was just so happy. With her life, with her babies, with her relationship, and even with the situation as a whole. They were here now, one giant misshapen family, and they would have to make it work for better or worse. But, that didn't mean that they weren't going to have difficulties.

"Gray…" Natsu repeated as he played with Emi. His face was smiling playfully at her but his voice, directed at Gray, was stiff. "You're marrying Juvia in a few months aren't you?"

Gray nodded, "Yea, in just a few more months."

"Then I think its time you moved back home." Natsu let that thought hang in the air for a while. He was still playing with an extremely delighted little Emi and she deserved his attention. After a few minutes he turned away from her to face Gray. Gray was still holding Daichi, his muscles visibly tense. "It's been three months… I'm not saying don't come here every day Gray, but you should move home. Plus," Natsu turned to face Emi again, "you have bonded with them now, I gave you your space. But, you need to start going on jobs again. I want to see them too." He looked back towards Gray, emotion clear in his eyes. He missed being here, with her and with the babies. He missed his family.

Gray just stared at him for a few more minutes before leaning down and kissing Daichi's forward. He smiled slightly and set Daichi down in his crib, sound asleep. "I know your right… It's just, hard to leave."

Natsu looked at him in silent understanding. The two had begun to mostly reconcile their tensions from before, but Lucy couldn't delude herself into thinking it would ever be the same as before she got pregnant. She knew that there may always be some underlying resentment between the two of them.

"I'll leave this weekend, ok?" Gray looked sad so Lucy reached over and grabbed his hand. Natsu didn't move, but his eyes darted to their grasped hands before he looked back at Emi.

"It's going to be ok Gray, you will still see them all the time." Gray nodded solemnly at her. The decision was made, but that didn't mean that it wasn't hard to actually do. He lightly took his hand from her, smiled slightly at them, and left. He was probably going to tell Juvia about what had happened. Lucy knew that Juvia would be ecstatic, after all, it meant that she could be with him even more, they could even go on jobs together. Lucy sighed slightly, she really missed getting to go on jobs with Natsu. It was always so much fun, but she knew that she would have to wait quite a while before she could do it again.

Natsu was holding Emi close, her little hand grasped tightly around his pointer finger. He leaned in and touched his forehead against hers. Lucy wondered if he had any idea how similar Gray and him actually were. She barely heard it, his voice was hushed and loving, as he looked down at Emi, "I missed you, my little princess."

~ A little over 1 year old ~

It happened one day and shocked their entire misshapen family. It led to the biggest fight that Natsu and Gray had had since she was pregnant. They were all sitting in the babies' room. It was a little tight in there since the babies were now fumbling their way around on two feet. It was exhilarating to watch, and tiring to chase after them. At least for now they didn't get too far before they would plop on their butt. It always gave Lucy's heart a little panic when one of them would tip over, but it was par for the course. Lucy was sitting in the rocking chair and both men were sitting on the floor playing with the babies when it happened. Emi had just toppled over in front of Natsu before she crawled the last few inches to him. He picked her up and she looked him straight in the eyes and with the most adorable voice she said…

"Daddy."

The whole room went quiet as Natsu forced a smile at the little girl. She was so proud of herself and she clapped her hands together. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" She couldn't seem to stop from babbling her newly found word.

"Good job Emi…" Natsu said, trying to let the little girl know that he was proud of her. Soon, she got bored and he put her back on the floor where she promptly crawled over to play with her brother.

The kids in the room were having a blast. Ignorance was bliss after all.

The adults, on the other hand, were frozen. Too scared to move, to speak, to disturb the tension in the room for fear it would snap. It stayed like that the rest of the night until Emi and Daichi were tucked safely into bed and they had all gone downstairs. As soon as they had walked into the living room Gray whipped around to face them, fury in his eyes.

"MY daughter's FIRST word…. I should be happy right?" He faked a smile and tossed his hands up in the air dramatically. He didn't usually act out, or act dramatic, it wasn't like him. But he was mad, really, really mad. "She called YOU…" He then pointed an accusatory finger at Natsu, "Daddy… You, not me. I'm her father…" At this point he trailed off, his anger spent, and collapsed onto the couch, his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. He was sitting there, hunched over and quiet. It was heartbreaking. She walked over and sat next to him, gently rubbing his back. She could feel him shaking ever so slightly. It was almost imperceptible.

"I'm sorry." Natsu said. His voice was stiff and his head was bent down, his bangs covering his eyes, "I'm sorry she called me Daddy before you… But I love that girl too. I love her like my own. What am I to her, huh? I'm not her Daddy, then what does she call me? What am I to them?" His voice was raised by the end. His frustration and sadness clearly evident in his voice. Lucy wanted to move over to him but when Gray lifted his head she was frozen to the spot. She could see tears on his cheeks.

"I don't know!" He was standing up now too, pacing the room. His eyes constantly flashing over to Lucy.

"Well, I don't know either!" Natsu's voice was harsh. Finally, he lifted his head and fixed Gray with a firm glare.

"They're my kids!" Gray's fury was about to boil over.

"Well, guess what, you're not going to like this, but they are mine too!" Natsu's hands turned into fists instinctively due to the way Gray's body tensed when he heard his words.

They were going to come to blows.

Lucy quickly stood up, she knew she couldn't let them fight. Plus, they were being so loud that they might wake the babies. She stood up and put her hands out to her sides, silently begging them to back down. They saw her pose and she saw Gray's form slightly loosen and Natsu's hands unravel.

"Now, we need to talk about this, not yell about this." She didn't expect a response from them and neither of them moved an inch. "Like it or not, the situation is what it is. We ARE a family." She made sure to stress that, that they were a family, and that wasn't going to change. "You are both their dads. It's just that one is biological and the other isn't. They can call both of you Dad."

The men looked at each other for a moment before the silence in the room broke. Natsu walked over to her and protectively wrapped an arm around her waist while Gray went and collapsed on the couch.

"They need to know that. They need to understand the difference between us." Gray finally muttered. His voice was deep, as if lost in his own sorrow and contemplation.

"They will." She said gently. Natsu wrapped his arm a little tighter around Lucy's waist. It was silent for a moment before they heard a soft knock on the door and Juvia entered. It was like Juvia was completely oblivious to the feeling of gloom that pervaded the room. She was simply glowing. Her smile was gigantic and her eyes immediately fixed upon Gray. She skipped over to him and pulled him up. Lucy once again noticed Juvia's wedding band and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Natsu and her were together, yes. But, there were still no clues as to if he would ever ask her to marry him. She took a quick, deep, breath and let it go. By now, Gray's eyes were searching Juvia's excited face, trying to figure out what all the commotion was about.

"I wanted to wait to tell you, but now seeing you I simply can't! I can't wait a second more!" Julia placed her hands on her hips ecstatically, determinedly looking at Gray. "I'm pregnant Gray!"

Gray froze. Completely, and utterly, froze. Juvia was standing there smiling and waiting for his response but he was frozen. After nearly a minute of utter quiet Juvia's face started to drop and Lucy felt Natsu leave her side and walk over to Gray, a smile on his face.

"Already?" He smirked at Gray, making Gray turn his attention to him. "You work fast. Congrats!" Natsu smacked him on the back, not hard, but enough to wake Gray from his stupor.

Gray turned and smiled, then realization dawned in his eyes and he reached out and pulled Juvia in for a deep and loving kiss. He leaned back from her slightly and his grin was filled with childlike wonder.

"We're having a baby…"

~ About 2 years old ~

Levy and Gajeel were engaged. They had just left Lucy's house and she had hugged her best friend tightly. She congratulated her, she was truly so happy for her. Yet, as soon as she was told the news she had this terrible gut-wrenching jealously sneak up from the pit of her stomach. She wanted that too. She wanted to be happy like that. Natsu and her were doing so well together. He still didn't live there, but he was there nearly every day (except for when he was on a job) and he stayed most nights. Nothing physical had progressed either. They had gotten closer and closer to each other and they had gotten close to listening to their deepest desires but Natsu was still being stubborn. He said that she was too special, that they had to wait until they were married. Of course, to her, that meant that they would get married eventually. Still, more than two years since they had first started dating there was no ring on her finger or even talk of marriage. She loved him. She loved him so much. He was amazing with the kids. She wanted this, she wanted to officially be his. Even Gajeel got himself together and finally asked Levy to marry him before Natsu worked up the nerve. She was just sitting there on the couch, silent. Natsu had just come back in the room after locking the door behind Levy and Gajeel.

"Wow, good for them, right Lucy?" He smirked at her and tilted his head in an adorable way. Usually, that little head tilt would make her smile. But, she just couldn't seem to manage that right now. "Lucy?"

"Yea Natsu?" She turned slightly to look at him, her face still and unemotional.

"You ok Lucy?" He looked concerned now and he came over to her. He sat down beside her and grabbed her hand gently.

She just looked at him for a moment before turning away. She looked straight forward, unable to look at him. She reached her other hand over and held his with both of hers. "What is this Natsu?"

"What is what?" She felt his hand tense slightly around hers, holding her tighter as if he might loose her.

"What are we? What are we doing? A little over two years ago you said you wanted to be a part of this family, and you are. But, what are we doing? We don't move forward and I'm sick of being stuck in this frozen relationship."

His hand went limp in hers. It was as if he lost all will in that moment.

"What are we, Natsu?" She turned to face him. She felt desperate. She needed this answer. Gray and Juvia were married with a brand new little boy. Levy and Gajeel were engaged and from the way Levy played with the twins it was clear she was eager to have one of her own. She wanted to be moving forward with Natsu by now. She wanted to know that there was a future with them. That this was going to be something real and that one day they would finally get married. He was just sitting there frozen, his eyes searching her face.

"We're us Lucy." His voice was soft.

"But, what is that Natsu? Are we ever going to move forward? Do you think you will ever want to marry me?" Her voice caught at the end and she had to mentally calm herself down because just the thought of him not wanting to marry her made her want to cry.

He looked frustrated and he pulled his hand slowly out of hers. He blushed slightly but all she could focus on was how cold her hands felt without his. "I love this family Lucy."

She nodded at him. She had no idea what he was going to say next and she hung on every word knowing it had the power to break her heart.

"This family is my family." He turned to look at her now, but he still didn't touch her. "I'm never going to let any of you go. I love you, and I love Daichi and Emi. They are growing up so fast…" He trailed off for a minute, his eyes glazing over slightly. "I didn't know you were so worried about this. I know it has been a while… You know I love you…" He reached over and grabbed her hands again making her heart melt. All tension melted form her body and she was mesmerized by his eyes. "This is the life I want." He pulled her in, tucking her head in against his chest and wrapping his arms around him. He leaned his head down and whispered close to her ear. "I want you forever." She could feel the long kiss he placed against her forehead and she melted into his grasp, lost in bliss from the sensation of his touch. "I have to go on a job for a few days, I'll come right back here as soon as I get back ok?"

Even though he didn't really answer her question, and they were no further down the path to marriage, she felt completely at ease in his arms. When he left that night that sense of being complete, of being happy, left with him and she felt a sudden hollowness within herself. She crawled into bed feeling completely alone. The kids were with Gray for the night and she couldn't wait to pick them up the next day. She laid there, looking up at the ceiling, and couldn't help but wonder what her future would be.

Early the next morning she was knocking on Gray's door as early as she could. A tired Gray opened the door with a muttered 'hello' before he mentioned her into the house. She could hear a baby wailing.

"Still colic?"

Gray's gentle nod confirmed her suspicion. "I was up all night with him. I can't help him Lucy… I don't know how to help him…" His voice cracked a little and he coughed to try and cover it up. She leaned over and patted his back lightly.

"Just being there helps him." She smiled warmly at him and he seemed to shake off his sleepless night and smiled back. She walked into the living room to find the twins happily playing with some blocks. Daichi's blond hair was so long now, contrasting with his dark eyes in such a stunning way it often shocked her when he turned to face her. He was boisterous and confident. So much like Gray and Natsu that it was remarkable. He was going to be one tough little boy. Emi, on the other hand, was more quiet. She always carefully thought over what she was going to do next yet she was still very emotional. She contained herself, not letting her emotions rule her unlike her brother. With her dark hair and shocking icy eyes Lucy knew that she would be a heartbreaker. Plus, even though there was nothing to actually support this, she had a sneaky suspicion that the twins were going to have a lot of potential magic power. She wasn't sure why. She knew it was more than just motherly love and wishes. It was simply something about them, they way they acted, the things they did, that made her 100% sure that they were going to be extremely powerful together.

Juvia walked around the corner and into the room, holding a fussy little baby boy. As tired as she must be, she was still smiling ear to ear. Lucy walked over to her and peeked at the little baby. She reached over and gently tickled his belly making him giggle for a moment.

"How are you doing little Kenta?" He babbled up at her and she smiled at him. Gray and Juvia were doing really well together, they looked so happy. She was happy for them yet it made her long for the same thing with Natsu even more.

"A little better now. As long as I'm moving he seems to be a bit better." Juvia's voice was soft and full of love.

They chatted for a little bit, their unconventional family enjoying some good ole-fashioned family time, before she got the kids ready and went home. With the kids there it wasn't as easy to focus on missing Natsu. Three days later, just after she had finished cleaning up for the night and was sitting on the living room floor playing with the kids, Natsu finally returned.

"I'm back!" He walked in and immediately dropped down onto his knees as an extremely thrilled Emi hurried into his arms, Daichi not far behind.

"Daddy!" She cried as she held him close to her.

He laughed. "I missed you both two my little buddies." He smirked up at her and moved slightly so he was down on one knee. She was still siting on the floor so he reached out a hand and pulled her gently up so she was standing. The kids were still clinging to him when they noticed she had moved. Daichi looked up at her, confused, so he moved over to her and wrapped his little arms tight around her leg. Emi, of course, never letting go of Natsu. Natsu leaned down and kissed Emi's head gently before turning to look back at Lucy. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quiet explain.

"I had some time to think while I was away. I love you Lucy, I love this family…" His eyes traveled over to both of the kids as he took in a slightly shaky breath, Emi now trying to hang from around his neck. He grabbed her with one arm, carrying her so she could wrap her arms around his neck easier. "I want this Lucy. I'm all in. I'm sorry its taken so long, but I had to save to get what I wanted…"

She looked at him confused. She reached one hand down to gently rub the top of Daichi's head. Her heart was beating irregular and her palms were slightly sweaty.

Slowly he pulled something out of his pocket and presented it to her. It was a large diamond ring, at least two carats from what she could guess, with small rubies dotting the band like dancing flames. "Will you marry me Lucy?"

Her world froze and for a moment she was sure her hurt was actually going to burst. It wasn't until she heard Emi's sweet voice say, "Pretty" that she broke form her stupor.

"Yes. Yes. Oh yes Natsu!" She fell to the floor and into his arms and they merged into a family hug. Eli still holding his neck, Daichi right in-between Natsu and Lucy, as their arms somehow managed to wrap around each other and pulled themselves into a deep and loving kiss.

~ Emi and Daichi's 5th Birthday ~

Ballons and party streamers filled the house. Most of the guild was over and all the little kids were running all over the house. They had just finished eating a giant cake (lovingly supplied by Erza) and the kids were on a sugar buzz. Lucy couldn't believe it, they were already five. She had been in mild shock all day. She couldn't believe that five years had gone by so fast. Now, Daichi was her little stubborn boy; emotional, courageous, and strong. She kept his blonde hair cut at ear length and it tended to stick up in this adorable manner just like his father's. He was obsessed with magic, constantly having her call the celestial spirits and having Natsu and Gray perform little magic tricks for him. He was trying so hard himself to start doing magic, but he hadn't quite found the magic that was his yet. Lucy knew he was young, but she didn't expect it would be much longer before he found the type of magic that was just perfect for him. Emi was also entranced by magic. She loved to watch Natsu eat fire and seemed completely baffled that she wasn't allowed to do the same thing. What she loved to do the most though was sit with Levy and read books on magic. She was studying. Her black hair was down to the middle of her back by now and somehow her eyes had become even more fierce. Their icy color was entrancing and mysterious. Even though she didn't say, Lucy knew she was hunting through any old book she could find, having Levy help her to read any words she didn't know yet, desperately searching for a magic that would be all hers. She wanted something strong. Emi was a thinker, determined, and passionate. Whatever magic she would excel at would be something ancient, dug out from one of those musty books, and she would perfect it. Lucy just knew it. Both of them were smart. They could read, write, and do basic math. They understood the essentials of magic because the guild members eagerly taught them everything they knew. They understood how it worked, now all they had left to do was begin using it themselves.

By now, Kenta was two years old and extremely curious about everything around him. He seemed especially absorbed with watching his mother use her water magic. He looked shockingly like Juvia; the same hair, the same eyes, but his personality was exactly like Gray's. He loved playing with his big brother and sister. Daichi and him had especially bonded. Things were not always easy. There were still disagreements between Lucy and Gray about how often the kids would be at either of their houses. Still, they made it work. Difficulties aside, everything had been going really well.

Levy and Gajeel had, surprisingly, twins too. It had brought Levy and Lucy even closer together from their newly shared twinning parenthood experience. Levy's twins were little balls of energy, only barely a year old. Their was a baby in each of their arms and it still slightly disturbed Lucy to see such a big smile on Gajeel's face. Looking at the little boy in Gajeel's arms he looked down at what she tenderly held within her own arms.

Little Nashi.

Natsu and her had gotten married a few months after he proposed. It had been wonderful and beautiful. But, it simply couldn't compare to the feeling of wholeness she had now that she had the twins and little Nashi. She was only about two months old and it was already easy to tell that she was going to be freakishly like Natsu. She had his pink hair, his emotional manner, and even his eyes. It was the female version of Natsu staring up at her. Her little baby hand was fisted in Lucy's blonde hair making her laugh and gently pull the little hand away. Even though she was just two months old, whenever she had a play date with Levy's twins she was completely obsessed with their little boy. It drove Natsu nuts but Lucy thought it was adorable. She may only be two months old, but she knew what she wanted.

When she first announced she was pregnant she thought Natsu was going to burn the house down in his excitement. Instead, he ran rampant throughout the house, picking up the twins and twirling them around in wide circles before collapsing with them on the floor in a pit of laughter. When she gave birth he was once again a nervous mess, but as soon as she was born and he held her in his arms Lucy saw the same expression on his face from when he first held Daichi, yet it was even more intense. Now, he had two little princesses. Their house was filled to the brim with their little family and it was entirely filled with love. Yes, once in a while they still fought… Mostly when he had to go out on jobs. She desperately missed going out on jobs with him. She wanted to so bad, but she still needed to be home. After all, she had a newborn. They had made a deal, when any children they had were at least five, they would go out on jobs again. Until then, they could do small jobs together around the city. She couldn't believe the way her life had turned out. It had taken such an unexpected turn, but even with all the trouble it caused she wouldn't change it for anything. She would never regret having Emi and Daichi. The difficulties they all went through were worth it and now everyone somehow managed to have the happy families that they had always wanted. So what that it was all a little misshapen? She didn't care about that anymore. Yes, it made things harder sometimes, but it was all theirs. It was their perfect, misshapen, family.

Love isn't always easy, it doesn't always go the way you believe it will. Life doesn't follow the path you think it will but you have to bend with the changes and adjust. Those unexpected changes, those diverging life paths, can lead to the most amazing outcomes that you never even knew were possible. Lucy smiled down at the little baby in her arms just as Natsu came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her gently.

"I can't believe our twins are five already."

She leaned into him and Nashi became entranced with Natsu's face. He laughed and reached up a hand to gently rub her head making her close her eyes happily. "Nashi loves you so much Natsu. Our family is finally whole."

"Yes…" His eyes traveled across the room, landing on the twins who were playing with their brother. "This is one amazing family. Thank you Lucy…"

"For what?" She looked up at him, leaning in for another kiss before slightly pulling away.

"For everything… For this life and for this family…"

She leaned against him slightly more and took a sweeping look at all of their friends crunched into their house. She could hardly believe her life, this life, with him and all the kids. She clung to this moment. She clung to the image of all her guild mates surrounding them, of the twins playing with their brother, of Levy and Gajeel happily walking around with their own twins in their arms, and the little bundle she held lovingly within her own. This was her family, her great, and wonderful, misshapen family… And it was perfect.

b

~ Author's Note ~

Well, that's the end! I really hope you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on the whole story and if you liked the ending! Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope the ending didn't feel too rushed with the time jumps.

Please let me know your thoughts on the ending!

Thank you for all your support.

~ FeudalAi ~


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